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Kid Rock's assistant drunk in crash that killed him

NASHVILLE — An assistant for musician Kid Rock was intoxicated from alcohol at more than twice the legal driving limit when he died in an ATV accident, according to a newly released medical examiner's report.

The report puts the blood-alcohol content for Michael Sacha, 30, at more than 0.20% at the time of his death; the legal limit to operate a vehicle in Tennessee is 0.08. Sacha died in late April when he crashed an all-terrain vehicle on the suburban Nashville property of Kid Rock, whose legal name is Robert Ritchie.

Sacha suffered significant injuries to his head and neck from the wreck, according to the report.

"Based on the circumstances and the collective findings, it is my opinion that the cause of death in this case is blunt-force trauma; the manner is an accident," states the report, which Assistant Medical Examiner Emily Dennison wrote.

Ritchie discovered Sacha's body April 25 on the rock star's Nashville-area property. The autopsy, provided by the Davidson County Medical Examiner’s office, stated Sacha was found down a steep ravine off Rock’s driveway and that the accident severed his brain from his spinal cord in several areas.

Sacha is believed to have died after ferrying guests from a cookout on Ritchie's sprawling Whites Creek estate to an Uber ride at the property's driveway around midnight April 25, Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County police said in a news release. He apparently lost control of the vehicle and crashed on his way back to the residence.

The day Ritchie found Sacha he said he was "beyond devastated."

"He was a member of our family and one of the greatest young men I have ever had the pleasure to not only work with, but also to become friends with," he said. "I know I speak for us all in sharing my deepest condolences to his family. I cannot imagine how they must feel."

Ritchie and a friend found Sacha on the embankment late on the morning of April 25 and called for help, according to police.

Follow Dave Boucher and Cindy Watts on Twitter: @Dave_Boucher1 and @CindyNWatts

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