Son: Dad Probably Provoked Fatal Shove at Hank Williams Jr. Concert

Hank Williams Jr. performs at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Aug. 17. (Photo: Chris Schwegler @http://www.schwegweb.com/ via DTE Energy Music Theatre Facebook page)

_________________________

The son of a Westland man who died after hitting his head on a concrete floor at a Hank Williams Jr. concert last weekend says his dad probably provoked the shove by a 15-year-old family friend in good-natured horseplay.

Robert Kobe, 55, was pronounced dead at 12:04 p.m. Tuesday at McLaren Oakland Hospital in Pontiac, where he was rushed after emergency responders found him in a pool of blood at the DTE Energy Music Theatre near clarkson about 9 p.m. Sunday.

Cody Kobe, 29, of Westland said his father was like “an uncle who picks on you but doesn’t mean to hurt you,” the Detroit Free Press reports.

Also on Patch:

• Woman Hears Reports of Her Death on TV
• Woman Reported Dead in Floods to Meet her Rescuer
• Girl Mauled By Raccoon Adds Some Bling to Her New Miracle Ear

Cory Kobe said he’s convinced from investigators’ reports and his own knowledge of his dad’s personality that the fatal shoving was a tragic accident. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard confirmed the altercation was “actually precipitated by the victim,” WWJ-TV reports.

“My father was double this kid’s size,” Cory Kobe said of his father, a bodyguard for guitarist Ted Nugent in the 1970s. “There’s no way that kid’s just going to come up and clock my dad” with a fatal shove, the younger Kobe told the newspaper.

“At any point in my life, goofing around, I could have been that kid, my father could have been that kid.” – Cory Kobe

Robert Kobe, more of a rock ‘n’ roll guy than a country fan, was attending the concert with a friend and his 15-year-old son. The teen was “terrified” by what has occurred and Cory Kobe said he decided to speak to media to “make sure that this young man gets fair treatment” and dispel rumors that are “riling everyone up” that a hostile youth attacked Robert Kobe.

The teen was briefly held by juvenile authorities, but was released pending further investigation. The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment on the case in an email to the Free Press, saying only the investigation is ongoing.

Of his father, Cory Kobe told WWJ-TV:

“He was a big goof ball. He wasn’t mean, everybody loved him, but he would tease with you and kid around. Given the circumstances of what I’ve come to learn, there’s no reason to believe that there was any kind of foul play involved. Nobody had any intention. It was an accident. I don’t hold any ill will toward the 15-year-old involved. I understand it. At any point in my life, goofing around, I could have been that kid, my father could have been that kid.”