Iggy Pop Drummer Killed in Hit and Run

Musician was a father of two

Alex Kirst, a drummer who played with punk legend Iggy Pop, was killed by a hit and run driver in the California desert, authorities said.

Kirst, who was 47, was originally a member of glam rockers The Nymphs was killed Jan. 13. Cathedral City police say a white Chevrolet Tahoe or GMC Yukon struck Kirst, who was on foot, on Jan. 13.

"We have no evidence of any braking," Sgt. Paul Herrera told The Desert Sun. "[The driver] made no attempt to stop and fled the scene."

Kirst's brother, Whitey, a guitarist for Iggy Pop, told the website that he was "devastated" by the news.

"From what I understand, he just went to the store to get a pack of cigarettes," he said of the father of two.

Herrera says someone spotted Kirst on the side of Date Palm Road at about 11:45 p.m. and called police, thinking the man was intoxicated.

The Nymphs were big in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but disbanded after one album.

The brothers helped form The Trolls, Pop's backup band on albums "Beat 'Em Up" and "Skull Ring."

Selected Reading: The Associated Press, Billboard.com, New York Daily News.

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