Harry Chapin Killed in Auto Accident
Rolling Stone August, 1981
Submitted to the archive by Nina Peterson

As this issue of Rolling Stone was going to press, Harry Chapin was killed in a collision on New York's Long Island Expressway. The accident occurred at 12:27 p.m. on July 16th as Chapin, 38, was driving from his home in Huntington Bay, Long Island, where he lived with his wife and five children, to an appointment in Manhattan. Apparently, he was trying to change lanes when his blue 1975 Volkswagen Rabbit was hit from behind by a tractor-trailer. Spokesmen at Nassau County Medical Center said Chapin died from a massive heart attack, but they were not sure whether it occurred before or after the accident. A gold pocket watch found on the body was the only initial means of identification.

A full tribute and obituary will be published next issue.