A motorcyclist is dead and a two people are in critical condition after a collision on a Santa Rosa street Saturday afternoon. According to the California Highway Patrol, one of those injured was Norman Greenbaum, best known as the man who wrote and performed the classic rock song "Spirit in the Sky."

According to the CHP, Greenbaum was in the front passenger seat of a white 2002 Subaru Outback headed east on Occidental Road in Santa Rosa at 3:20 Saturday afternoon. When the Subaru driver, 62-year-old Bonita Kay Perea, went to turn left onto Piezzi Road (you can see the intersection on a map, here), she did so in front of an oncoming 2004 Suzuki GSX-R600 motorcycle.

"Evidently unable to slow or stop in time to avoid a collision with the Subaru," the motorcyclist collided with the right side of the vehicle, CHP says. According to their report, Perea "didn't see" the motorcyclist previous to the crash.

The driver of the motorcycle, 20-year-old Ihab Usama Halaweh of Santa Rosa, died at the scene. His passenger, Nhmia Mekonnen Kahsay, was critically injured, CHP says.

Greenbaum, age 72, was also critically injured in the crash. A long-time resident of Santa Rosa, Greenbaum shot into fame when Warner Brothers released "Spirit in the Sky" in 1969.

In 1970 alone, the song sold over two million singles, and has since appeared in nearly 50 movies, Greenbaum estimates on his site, as well as TV shows, commercials, and film trailers.

As the New York Times noted in 2006:

Even though Mr. Greenbaum long ago signed away the publishing rights to his song, as the song’s performer, he still receives a cut of the revenue. Each time “Spirit in the Sky” lands in a major movie or ad, he cashes a check for $10,000 or more.

“Well, it’s not like it’s made me rich, as you can see,” said Mr. Greenbaum, 64, gesturing at his modest two-bedroom apartment in Santa Rosa, Calif., about an hour north of San Francisco. “But because of ‘Spirit in the Sky,’ I don’t have to work. So in that sense, it’s a comfortable living.”

At publication time, a CHP spokesperson says that Greenbaum and Kahsay remain at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where both are being treated for their injuries.