SUNDERLAND – Locally renowned blues guitarist Art Steele has died following a rollover accident Thursday.
“He unfortunately passed away,” Sunderland Police Chief Erik Demetropoulos confirmed this morning, adding, “He was a great resident of the town; a lot of people spoke highly of him.”
Demetropoulos said it isn’t clear why 65-year-old Steele died.
On Thursday around 10:30 a.m., Steele was taken to the hospital following a rollover accident on Old Amherst Road. Demetropoulos said the van that Steele was driving was traveling about 20 miles per hour toward North Main Street when it crossed lanes and went off the roadway, striking objects and shrubbery in front of an apartment building until it overturned.
Currently, investigators are trying to figure out why Steele died. In some accidents victims are stricken, which then causes them to lose control of a vehicle, but die of underlying medical casuses. In other cases they die from injuries in the crash.
Following the crash, police shut down the road for a few hours to allow investigators a chance to work.
Starting in the 1960s, Steele made a name for himself in the music scene, performing at venues across the Pioneer Valley.
In addition to his music career, Steele was also an author, sound engineer and local businessman.
According to his website, Steele launched into music on a “Montgomery Ward Jumbo Western Flat Top Acoustic that came into his possession when he was 12 years old.”
“Practicing religion to me is humility and openness and doing what makes you feel closest to the mostest,” Steele is quoted on the site. “For me that is the point of playing, when I am totally disconnected, going strictly on feel, and showing people who I am. That’s when all the barriers seem to fall down. The guitar connects to a whole new power cell in me. I feel like I’m doing something important, like I have something to say. Playing guitar is as close as I get to religion, spiritualism, and magic.”
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
You can reach Andy Castillo
at: acastillo@recorder.com
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On Twitter: @AndyCCastillo