Most of you know what happened to Rich's car Wednesday night in Ventura. If not, his story from Facebook is below.  We need to pull together and get Rich on the road again, which means enough for a vehicle, some gear (his amp is still stuck in the trunk), and a few bucks to deal with the storage/disposal of the totaled car. I am going on the assumption that the guy that hit Rich's car isn't going to have the insurance to deal with this fiasco and time is of the essence.

Rich Sheldon is an amazing guy we all know on one level or another, maybe you're a friend, a family member, fan, or someone, like me, that gets the pleasure of sharing a stage with Rich from time to time. Wherever you sit, here's a few things everyone can agree on.

1. Rich Sheldon is one of the nicest people you know and will ever meet.
2. Rich is incredibly passionate about music,
3. Gigging is his life, and wheels are critical with his playing schedule.
3. He entertains us and thousands of others night after night after night, and there's rarely, if ever a cover!
4.  Musicians generally aren't wealthy and setbacks like this aren't easily fixed by savings accounts and credit cards.
5. Giving is good
 
Whatever you can spare will certainly help Rich out in this time of need. Please share this with others and let's get the word out, Thank You!

Maybe when you see the guys play you tip a little, maybe youy don't....well, here's he mother of all tip jars...let's fill it up.

Here's the story from Rich's Facebook Page:

I was playing a gig in Ventura last night at Amigo's on Main Street when I heard a loud crash on the street of a car hitting mine. It then drove away quickly sounding like it was trying to evade the scene. I heard people in a commotion on the street sounding upset that the car was trying to evade. Shawn Cunnane and I stopped playing our instruments and went out on the street to find my car completely destroyed. The police were on the scene immediately, and there was an altercation between the driver and the police. Someone told me the driver's tire blew out causing him to hit my car. The firemen tried to remove the back seat of my car, so that I could get my music equipment out of the car with no luck. But then my friend Jeremy Voss stepped in and removed the back seat and helped get all my equipment out of the car. My friend Steve M Strom heard the driver say he'd been drinking (6 beers) and needed gum to cover up the smell of alcohol on his breath. At that point I spoke to the Sergeant in charge and said I think the driver should take a breathalyzer. The officer got upset with me and said "I don't tell you how to do your job, and you shouldn't tell me how to do mine". Our cars were towed away and he let the guy walk away from the accident with no breathalyzer or charges. Steve told me he overheard that the officer knew the man, and that he was a parolee. The driver also nearly came within feet of hitting my friend Sarah Jenks Flesher, just missing her and totaling my car. He also hit another car and nearly hit another man by pushing my car onto the sidewalk. I then called the police station to make a complaint to the officer in charge who also copped an attitude with me. So then I called another officer over on the street to make another formal complaint. That officer told me he was trained to recognize if someone was driving under the influence, and he determined the the driver was not drunk but did not give him a breathalyzer even though he knew the guy was drinking because he could smell it on him. The Sergeant told me to follow up with the police report to get the driver's insurance info and that the driver did have insurance. But when I spoke to the driver after the officers left, he would not give me his insurance info and he said he would give me cash if I didn't turn it into his insurance. Also the name he gave me did not match the registration he showed me. I have liability insurance but not collision insurance, so now I'm out a vehicle and not sure if anything this guy provided the police is valid. Later on we heard more reports that this driver was at the Tavern and got the shit beat out of him by the bouncers. Once the gig was over Shawn drove me back to Santa Monica after loading up his car with all my equipment. Anyway, I'm thinking of starting a go fund me campaign as suggested by my friend Jeff Hiller. It feels kind of weird and humiliating to do that, but I'm just putting it out there anyway. If anyone out there feels inclined to help, I'll keep you posted when I get the campaign going. I'm just documenting everything here publicly now for the record. Thank you guys for all your help and support! You're all truly great people, and I'm lucky to have you as friends. Also, I'm going to make a formal complaint to the Ventura police department for not handling this incident appropriately and with no common sense.