The family of Chi Cheng of Deftones have confirmed that the bass played died in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Chi Cheng, Deftones, Photo By Ros O'Gorman
In a statement at oneloveforchi.com the family has posted:
“Our dearest Family,
This is the hardest thing to write to you. Your love and heart and devotion to Chi was unconditional and amazing. I know that you will always remember him as a giant of a man on stage with a heart for every one of you. He was taken to the emegency [sic] room and at 3 am today his heart just suddenly stopped. He left this world with me singing songs he liked in his ear.
He fought the good fight.You stood by him sending love daily. He knew that he was very loved and never alone. I will write more later. I will be going through the oneloveforchi and any other information may not be reliable. If you have any stories or messages to share please send them to the onelove site. Please hold Mae and Ming and the siblings and especially Chi’s son, Gabriel in your prayers. It is so hard to let go.
With great love and “Much Respect!” Mom J (and Chi)”
Chi suffered major injuries in a car accident in Santa Clara, California in November, 2008. He was travelling with his sister Mae when his car collided with another vehicle at 60 MPH and rolled three times. Chi was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the car. He has been in a coma since that accident.
For a moment in 2010 he showed signs of recovery when he started to respond to people around him and had some movement in his legs. He was sent home.
Chi Cheng was a founding member of Deftones and played on the five albums ‘Adrenaline’ (1995), ‘Around The Fur’ (1997), ‘White Pony’ (2000), ‘Deftones’ (2003 and ‘Saturday Night Wrist’ (2006).
He also played on the unreleased ‘Eros’ album.
Chi Cheng released his one solo album ‘The Bamboo Parachute’ in 2000.
