TMZ reports that hip-hop pioneer Flavor Flav of Public Enemy was nearly crushed by a falling boulder while driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, totaling his car and coming “very close to death.” The iconic hype man was driving through La Tuna Canyon when the boulder, loosened by recent local rain, fell down the side of the cliff, smashing into the car’s right side and making Flav lose control of the car.
A passerby who saw the collision stopped to make sure he was okay and Flav was able to contact AAA, telling reps that he was physically okay but mentally “shaken up.” He said, “God is good,” and that he’s “super grateful to be alive.” The car was totaled, though, with the passenger side all banged up and missing a headlight.
When last we heard from Flav, he was getting “fired” from Public Enemy for failing to perform as an April Fool’s joke ahead of the group dropping a new album and returning to Def Jam, the label that defined their early career. The group played their new song “Grid” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert from the album, What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down.