Singer Kid Rock discovered the body of his assistant on the rock star's Nashville area property Monday following an apparent ATV accident, police said.
Michael Sacha, 30, is believed to have died after ferrying guests to a cookout on Rock's sprawling Whites Creek estate to an Uber at the property's driveway around midnight Monday, Metro police said in a news release late Monday evening. He apparently lost control of the vehicle and crashed on his way back to the residence, police said.
In a statement Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, said he is "beyond devastated."
"He was a member of our family and one of the greatest young men I have ever had the pleasure to not only work with, but also to become friends with," he said. "I know I speak for us all in sharing my deepest condolences to his family. I cannot imagine how they must feel."
Ritchie and a friend found Sacha on an embankment late Monday morning and called for help, according to police.
Brian Haas, public information officer with the Nashville Fire Department, said they responded to a call Monday morning on Knight Drive and found a man lying face down on the side of a driveway. The man was already deceased by the time the fire department arrived.
Ritchie said he was supposed to go back to Michigan, but opted to stay in Tennessee until "I can bring him home to his family."
"We've already been contacted by the press asking if it was me who was in the accident, so I want to stop any rumors before they spread," Ritchie said. "I’m asking everyone to please respect our and his families' privacy in this difficult time. RIP Mike. We will never forget you, my friend."
