Cozy Powell, a Gloucestershire native (via The Independent), was driving to Cardiff, Wales, on April 5, 1998, to see his girlfriend, Sharon Reeve, per another article from The Independent. Powell was driving the M4 motorway near Bristol, England, when disaster struck. Powell was talking to Reeve on his cell phone when he told Reeve that he could not find fifth gear. She heard what she described as a "terribly loud noise," and Powell say, "oh s***." Reeve knew something must have happened and called the police when Powell failed to pick up her subsequent phone calls.

According to the BBC, Cozy Powell was pronounced dead at a local hospital in Bristol. He was only 50 years old (per The New York Times). Although the media did not publicize his injuries, an inquest later revealed that Powell had crashed while driving his Saab 9000 Turbo at 104 mph. Powell lost control when one of the car's rear tires blew out. The Saab hit a curb, rolled, and landed on its roof, with one witness saying he saw the vehicle "cartwheeling." He was not wearing a seatbelt and was legally drunk. The coroner ruled Powell's death as an accident.

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