Local heavy metal guitarist killed by alleged drunken driver near Hudson, Wis.
HUDSON, Wis. -- A beloved Minnesota musician is dead after a wrong-way wreck this weekend.
Metal guitarist Mark Filbrandt from Robbinsdale was driving home from a show in Wisconsin when troopers say a drunk driver crashed into him going the wrong way down I-94 near Hudson.
Filbrandt was in the band, Gorrified, with Brennon Betz, a vocalist and bassist. Betz says Filbrandt was like a brother to him.
"That's been the hardest part, just accepting it," Betz said. "My heart just felt like it was ripped from my chest."
Amber Pospisil is charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, as well as two counts of 2nd-degree recklessly endangering safety and driving the wrong way on a divided highway.
She was convicted of DWI in Minnesota last year and sentenced to probation. One of the conditions was not to drink alcohol.
Pospisil is accused of killing a man with an impressive reach in the metal community.
"Just one of the friendliest people I've ever really known," Ryan McAleavy said of Filbrandt. McAleavy is a vocalist in the band, Yotuma, which has toured with Gorrified. "A really unique character. One of those people where once you meet them, you'll never forget them."
Betz says Filbrandt was the king of social butterflies, knowing everybody at every show.
Gorrified has a new album coming that will now be dedicated to Filbrandt.
"I just have to keep reminding myself that he's gone," Betz said. "My heart and mind want to go back to normal like he's still here."
