Vince Neil's Dramas and Tragedies — from Daughter's Death to Car Crash That Took Friend's Life

Motley Crue lead vocalist Vince Neil has had a very successful career in the music industry. However, his personal life has not been a walk in the park.

Born in February 1961, Vince Neil has been a music icon since the early 80s when he joined drummer Tommy Lee, bassist Nikki Sixx, and guitarist Mick Mars to create Motley Crue.

No dollar amount can bring Skylar back.

VINCE NEIL'S CAR CRASH

The heavy metal band has been so influential in the music industry that some of its wild antics were depicted in "The Dirt," a Netflix biopic released in March 2019 and based on the 2001 autobiography of the same name.

One of the main themes explored in the film is their extravagant lifestyle. According to Neil, he and the rest of his bandmates were just "young" and "crazy" kids who wanted to live for excess.

It was precisely this "excess" that put Neil behind bars. On December 8, 1984, the members of Motley Crue and Hanoi Rocks, another rock band from Finland, were partying together to celebrate Hanoi's first American tour.

According to Pop Sugar, everybody at the party had been drinking a lot. However, Neil and Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley, Hanoi's drummer, decided to go to a liquor store. Unfortunately, Neil lost control of the vehicle and crashed into another car.

THE OUTCOME OF THE ACCIDENT

The Motley Crue vocalist made it out of the accident with minor injuries. Sadly, Razzle was not as lucky and was pronounced dead while in the hospital. The two passengers of the other car, Lisa Hogan and Daniel Smithers, ended up with traumatic brain injuries.

Following the accident, Vince Neil was taken to court and, after pleading guilty to vehicular manslaughter, he spent 30 days in prison, paid approximately $2.6 million in damages, and was ordered to complete hundreds of hours of community service and rehab.

To add insult to injury, Neil's relationship with the rest of his bandmates deeply deteriorated mainly because of his required sobriety as they didn't stop doing drugs.

Apart from that, Lee, Sixx, and Mars allegedly made fun of Neil. They would either try to encourage him to join them or push him completely away.

In 1992, Motley Crue finally decided to fire Neil. He had a fairly successful solo career, but then, in 1997, Neil came back to Motley Crue, and they have been together ever since.

DEATH OF VINCE NEIL'S DAUGHTER

The 80s were definitely tough for Neil, but destiny had an even more difficult test prepared for him. On August 15, 1995, Vince Neil's daughter, Skylar, passed away. She was only four years old.

Only four months before her death, she had been diagnosed with Wilms' tumor, a rare form of kidney cancer. A few days after Skylar died, Neil sued Boeing North American Inc., a now-defunct aerospace manufacturer, claiming that they caused her death.

The vocalist pointed out that the company knowingly dumped hazardous materials, including plutonium and uranium, near his Summit Ridge Circle residence located southeast of Simi Valley in Chatsworth, California.

Neil added that Skylar contracted cancer "as a direct result" of the dangerous activities conducted by the aerospace company.

THE LAWSUIT WAS DISMISSED

Skylar's death and Neil's lawsuit came only one month after state officials revealed that they were to remove over 3,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil from the previously mentioned site. About the case, Neil's then-publicist Jeff Albright said:

"I think basically he just became aware of the Rocketdyne alleged activities. I don't think it's about money [but] about awareness. No dollar amount can bring Skylar back."

The lawsuit was eventually dismissed after Neil's attorney, David Cordrey, couldn't provide documents that the company requested to prepare for the case. Last year, Neil shared a tribute to his late daughter on Instagram. For the caption, he wrote, "Miss you," followed by an angel emoji.

At the moment, Vince Neil is 59 years old and still active in the music industry. Apart from that, he is in a relationship with Rain Hannah. Neil has two children, Elizabeth (born to his first wife Beth Lynn) and Neil Wharton (born to a woman named Tami Jones).