Singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum featured in 50 films and several TV shows. Photo: Press DemocratSinger-songwriter Norman Greenbaum featured in 50 films and several TV shows. Photo: Press Democrat

Norman Greenbaum, the singer-songwriter behind the 1969 rock hit Spirit in the Sky, is in a critical condition after a car accident that killed a motorcyclist in his Northern California home city.

Greenbaum, 72, who wrote and sang the hit song and featured in 50 films and several TV shows, was a passenger in a Subaru Outback that turned left and crossed into the motorcycle’s path in Santa Rosa, the Press Democrat in Santa Rosa said.

The motorcycle’s 20-year-old driver, Ihab Usama Halaweh, died at the scene and his passenger was also critically injured.

Authorities said the car driver was not injured and alcohol was not suspected.

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