Gene Simmons of the rock band Kiss is reportedly at home recovering after crashing his car in Malibu, California.
The bassist and singer, 76, was driving along Malibu’s Pacific Coast Highway Tuesday afternoon, when he crashed his Lincoln Navigator into a parked car, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department told NBC4 Investigates.
Authorities said that when they arrived on the scene, Simmons was being treated by first responders. He reportedly told officers that he either fainted or fell asleep at the wheel.
Simmons was then taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation. His wife, Shannon Tweed, told the outlet that he has since been discharged and is recovering at home.
She explained that doctors had recently changed the rocker’s medications and that he needs to increase his water intake.
Tweed said that after he passed out, his SUV crossed several lanes of traffic before running into a parked car.
Simmons also told NBC4 that he is doing fine.
The Independent has contacted Simmons’s representative for comment.
Simmons previously went public about his heart condition, atrial fibrillation, which can cause fainting.
“I had never heard of the term AFib, but about 10 years ago, we were on tour someplace, and onstage the temperature goes up about a hundred, with all the stage lights,” he said on a 2016 episode of the talk show The Doctors at the time.
“I started to get dizzy and perspire and short of breath. So I called a doctor, and he showed up and said, ‘OK, here’s what’s going on. There’s something called AFib,’ and he went down the list. And it was a lot to take in.”
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AFib is a common type of arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat, according to Johns Hopkins Medical Center. It is caused by extremely fast and irregular beats from the upper chambers of the heart.
Simmons co-founded the legendary rock band Kiss with frontman and rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley in 1973. They were later joined by drummer Peter Criss and lead guitarist Ace Frehley.
For years, the band remained active until they officially retired from live touring in 2023.
The following year, the “I was Made for Lovin’ You” band sold their catalogue, brand name, and IP to Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment Group in a deal estimated to be over $300 million.
“I don’t like the word acquisition,” Simmons told the Associated Press of the deal.
“Collaboration is exactly what it’s about. It would be remiss in our inferred fiduciary duty — see what I just did there? — to the thing that we created to abandon it,” he continued.
“People might misunderstand and think, ‘OK, now Pophouse is doing that stuff and we’re just in Beverly Hills twiddling our thumbs.’ No, that’s not true. We’re in the trenches with them. We talk all the time. We share ideas. It’s a collaboration. Paul (Stanley) and I especially, with the band, we’ll stay committed to this. It’s our baby.”
