NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans community and local musicians mourned the loss of Kerry 'Fat Man' Hunter who was tragically killed by a driver on Fat Tuesday.
Funeral arrangements for Hunter were announced Friday, Feb. 23. A public viewing was held in the Chapel of Charbonnet Labat Glapion Funeral Home at 1615 St. Philip Street. The viewing began at 2 p.m. and will be held until 5 p.m.
A celebration service honoring the life of the late Kerry "Fat Man" Hunter will be held on Saturday, Feb. 24 at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts, 1419 Basin Street, starting at 10 a.m.
A traditional Jazz procession will follow and visitation begins at 9 a.m.
Kerry 'Fat Man' Hunter was a drummer for the New Orleans Nightcrawlers and won a Grammy in 2021 for the Best Regional Roots Music Album.
According to a detailed report from the New Orleans Police Department, Hunter died after he was hit while walking near Elysian Fields and North Claiborne early Tuesday morning.
The driver, 21-year-old Jeremy Lindsey, was arrested for suspected drunk driving.
The arrest report said on impact, Hunter went through the windshield of Lindsey’s Honda Accord, and he continued driving with Hunter’s body hanging out of the passenger side door.
Lindsey eventually stopped at the corner of South Derbigny and Cleveland streets, approximately two miles from the initial crash site.
Paramedics arrived and pronounced Hunter dead on the scene and NOPD officers arrested Lindsey on charges of vehicular homicide and hit-and-run driving.
Once news spread through the community about Hunter's death, over a thousand locals and musicians took to the streets Wednesday to second-line through the neighborhood in his honor.
Many New Orleans musicians who knew and collaborated music with Hunter voiced their loss.
“We all grew up together in the hard knocks of Treme in the music scene,” Derrick Tabb, a former member of Rebirth Brass Band, told Nola.com. “It’s very rare to have a Grammy in the brass band culture.”
The Kinfolk Brass Band took to Instagram to mourn the death of the former Grammy winner and band member.
The New Orleans band posted, "Please pray for the KINFOLK Band members as they are mourning for loss [sic] of the dear brother, Kerry “Fat man” Hunter🖤🕊️RIP “FATMAN“ … You’ll be truly missed Bro Man."
Actor Wendell Pierce voiced his sorrow on social media.
WWL Louisiana last spoke with Hunter in Sept. 2021 after a piece of his living room ceiling fell on him during Hurricane Ida.
“A little sorrow but we got life and when you got your life back…” a tearful Hunter told WWL following the collapse. “This is like materialist stuff, so we can regroup."
Hunter was a drummer for the New Orleans Nightcrawlers and won a Grammy in 2021 for the Best Regional Roots Music Album.
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