2 Tower Of Power Members Hit By Train Remain Hospitalized
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) – Two members of Oakland-based R&B group Tower of Power remain hospitalized Friday after being hit by an Amtrak train at Jack London Square Thursday night.
Drummer David Garibaldi and bassist Marc van Wageningen were walking from the Waterfront Hotel to Yoshi's around 7:30 p.m. when they were struck. The band was scheduled to perform two back-to-back shows at the club Thursday night.
Witnesses said the band members waited for one train to cross, but were struck by a second train going in the opposite direction.
In a written statement, bandleader Emilio Castillo said he was able to see Garibaldi in the hospital but was not able to see van Wageningen because he was in intensive care.
"Dave's head and face were pretty swollen and bruised but he was lucid and expected to recover. Marc came through surgery well; his internal bleeding was stopped and they were waiting for him to stabilize in order to do further testing. The doctors were cautiously optimistic," Castillo said.
Castillo went on to say, "We appreciate the responses and prayers from our former bandmates, friends, and fans and we all remain hopeful and in prayer."
Both Thursday evening shows were cancelled after the band members were hit and injured. The Thursday performances were the last two shows in what has become an annual January residency for the East Bay band at Yoshi's.
According to their website, the band was scheduled to continue touring the U.S. through the end of April. It is unclear when performances would resume.
Formed in in Oakland in 1968, Tower of Power consists of about a dozen members and have been a world-renowned Bay Area R&B/funk institution for almost 50 years. Originally signed to Bill Graham's San Francisco Records imprint in 1970, the group would rise to global fame on the strength of their early '70s hits like "Down To The Nightclub," "What Is Hip?" and "You're Still A Young Man."
Garibaldi is the drummer who played on the band's biggest songs and is most commonly associated with the band, even though he spent nearly two decades away from Tower of Power after leaving in 1980. He returned to performing with the group in 2013.