HELIX Drummer Placed In Medically Induced Coma After Fracturing Skull In Fall

Greg "Fritz" Hinz, longtime drummer for Canadian hard rockers HELIX, has been placed in a medically induced coma after fracturing his skull in a fall from the roof of his house.

According to HELIX singer Brian Vollmer, Hinz's injuries "are not life-threatening" but doctors are "keeping him in a coma and on breathing tubes until they feel he's all right to come out of it."

As a result of his condition, Hinz — who joined HELIX in 1982 and stayed in the band until 1996, before returning to the group 13 years later — will be unable to play with HELIX at the band's two scheduled gigs in Ontario this weekend. Filling in for him will be Jamie Constant from SYRE.

Vollmer's full message reads as follows: "I want to post this before rumors start flying around.

"This morning, shortly after I had just posted a video from yesterday's practice, I received a phone call from Fritz's girlfriend Traci. Fritz had gone out to the front of the house to fix some shingles on the roof. When Traci's sister went out to check on him, he was laying on the front lawn, having fallen from the roof. Luckily, one of the first two people on the scene was a nurse, who immediately phoned 9-1-1. He had a seizure on the front lawn and then another on the way to the hospital in Hamilton. They immediately put him in a drug-induced coma with breathing tubes down his throat.

"Over the course of the day, I started to receive as much info as the doctors were giving Traci. It was a day of crying, pacing, and praying. He had hit his head pretty hard on the way down and who knows what else he hit as he fell.

"About an hour ago, Traci phoned me to say that the doctor had told her the injuries are not life-threatening (they think) but regardless, he will have some serious rehab in the future. He fractured his skull and crushed a few vertebrae. The doctors are keeping him in a coma and on breathing tubes until they feel he's alright to come out of it. He's also moving his legs — a good sign.

"Please pray for Fritz tonight, everyone! This weekend will still go on with Jamie Constant from SYRE filling in on drums. I will keep everyone updated on how Fritz is doing. Get well, my brother."

Upcoming HELIX shows:

Nov. 16 - Maxwell's - Waterloo, ON
Nov. 17 - The Brass Monkey - Ottawa, ON

HELIX's latest studio album, "Bastard Of The Blues", came out in 2014.