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[Update: Gotthard Rock group undecided about future and public memorial]

Steve Lee on stage - Photo ©Bottom Row Promotion

Nevada, United States (GenevaLunch) – Steve Lee, 47, lead singer of the Swiss hard-rock group, Gotthard, has died after being hit by a tractor-trailer on a Nevada highway.

Lee, who only two weeks ago performed at the Miss Switzerland pageant, was in a US cross-country trip that had just begun on Sunday 3 October.

The singer, along with his partner, former Miss Switzerland Brigitte Voss-Balzerini, and the group of bikers had stopped on an emergency lane on Interstate 15, to put on their rain gear, when a tractor-trailer skidded into several parked motorcycles, one of  which hit Lee, killing the singer instantly.

The accident occurred between Mesquite and Las Vegas.

The Public Information Officer of the Nevada Highway Patrol, Trooper Joseph Fackrell, said to GenevaLunch that news reports saying it was raining heavily at the time of the accident were not accurate.

“It was maybe drizzling at the time. We do not believe there was a problem with visibility, or alcohol, or speed, but we don’t know yet why the truck driver failed to keep his lane,” said Fackrell from Nevada. The 27-year-old truck driver is not facing any charges in connection to Lee’s death.

Gotthard’s official website said Lee had flown to the US along biker friends to fulfill a long-cherished dream for which “he’d never had the time, due to his heavy touring schedule.”

Nevada DPS released to GenevaLunch the picture of the motorcycle that struck Steve Lee

“It was to be two weeks through the States on a Harley Davidson. The 21 Swiss bikers started their journey on Sunday on 12 motorcycles.”

Trooper Fackrell said after the accident the group headed to Mesquite where they spent the night.

Lee’s body was taken to the Clark County Coroner’s Office where it will remain until the investigation is completed. No information yet on when Lee’s body will be flown back to Switzerland.

Stefan Alois Lee was born on 5 August 1963 in Zurich, to a British father and Swiss mother, and was raised in the Ticino where he started what has been called the “most successful Swiss band of all times.”

His management company, Bottom Row Promotion, said: “We have lost not only one of the world’s best rock voices but also a good friend.”

Lee was described as a “down-to-earth person who always met people around him with respect.”

Letters of condolence can be sent to: Gotthard Music GmbH, Grossmatte Ost 2, CH-6014 Littau, Switzerland.

Gotthard’s “Need to Believe” music video