Details:
Guitarist Paul Hackman, a founding member of the Kitchener-based rock band Helix, was killed Sunday when the band's van rolled off a road in southern british Columbia.
  "He (Hackman) was the heart of the band," said Al Craig, the band's sound engineer and owner of a London sound and lighting company. "The guy was the most harmless human being...It's hard to fathom that he's not here anymore."
  Authorities say the band's van left the Coquihalla Highway near Merritt, about 200 kilometres northeast of Vancouver. The van - carrying Hackman, bass player Daryl Gray and crew members Alan Russell and Michael Palmer - was travelling east when the accident occurred.
  Hackman, asleep in a seat behind the driver, was thrown from the van and killed. According to Craig, Russell and Palmer are in hospital in stable condition. Gray was released after being treated for cuts and bruises.
  The band, which performed Saturday night in Vancouver, had just finished a three-week tour. Engineer Craig, London-based singer Brian Vollmer and drummer Brian Doerner flew home. (Doerner had replaced regular drummer Greg Hinz, who was recuperating from a back operation).
  Craig said Russell (who sold T-shirts and tapes for the band), was driving the van when the accident occurred at about 8 a.m. Pacific Time. "He saw a sign that said 50 kilometres to Kamloops," just before the accident, Craig said.
  Craig said that a truckcarrying the band's equipmentwas following the van, but because of the curving highway, its driver didn't realize there had been an accident.
  Bass player Daryl Gray ran back to the highway after the van rolled down a 40-foot embankment.
  "He (Gray) said that 20 cars went by him before somebody stopped," Craig said. "He stood there, bleeding on the side of the highway, trying to flag down a vehicle. Then finally, the car that stopped was a doctor and his wife."
  Craig said Helix had planned to start work on a new album at the Pro Sound studio here in London.
  "The whole idea of this tour was to work on some new music for the upcoming album," said Craig. "I think it's (still) going to happen...Everybody's come together and said we've got to make this album."
  Helix, formed in 1975, sold more than 100,000 copies of their 1985 album Walkin' The razors Edge. The band won an award from MuchMusic last fall for its heavy metal video Running Wild In The 21st century. In March, helix performed at The Bavarian in London.
  Hackman, 40, lived in Port Franks with his wife, Connie.