Drummer of Rising Metal Band Voraath and Three Others Killed by Drunk Driver on New Year’s Eve

Photo Credit: Voraath’s Instagram

The drummer of rising North Carolina metal band Voraath was killed along with three others by a drunk driver on New Year’s Eve.Joshua Nassaru Ward, the drummer of rising North Carolina death metal band Voraath, was killed along with three others by a drunk driver on New Year’s Eve. A GoFundMe has been set up for Ward, with over $20,000 raised so far.

According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol’s Master Trooper Mitch Ridgeway, a Greenville county man, Nicholas Shane Meeks, 31, was arrested and charged with four counts of felony DUI involving death. He was denied bond on Wednesday.

The crash on Tuesday night killed the 37-year-old Ward, his fiancee Zelena, and two others: Audrey Maris Ross, 29, and Amanda Lynn Leroux, 30. Ross and Leroux are said to have been friends of Ward and his partner.

Just after 9 PM in Greenville, South Carolina, Ward and his party were pulling out of a driveway in a Subaru SUV. They were struck by a 2012 BMW driven by Meeks. The crash sent the Subaru off the road and into a tree, killing all four occupants.Greenville News reports that Meeks was driving with a suspended license after having been booked on DUI charges for a separate incident in March 2024. He pled guilty in May, and a South Greenville County Summary Court Judge gave him a personal recognizance bond of $993. Meeks was also charged with driving a vehicle at greater speed than was reasonable under conditions in a 2023 event.

Voraath released a series of singles from 2021 to 2023, before releasing their debut full-length album, Vol. 1: The Hymn of the Hunters, in June 2024. The band was out celebrating its accomplishments just hours before the tragedy, and had posted on Facebook about their recent recognition earlier in the evening.

Ward also posted a photo of himself and his young son, Kai, on Facebook that day, wishing everyone a happy new year.