On July 4th, 2008, a man “wearing a little silk scarf and flashy clothing” was pulled over for speeding in a rural town in Canada. When the officer approached the car, he quickly noticed that the driver was having a medical emergency. Later, it was discovered that it was David Lee Roth of Van Halen fame and that this was a near-fatal allergic reaction to nuts. The officer saved Roth’s life.

Besides the many nutty references in the headlines of articles I’ve seen about this, I think the winner of the most cleverly written blurb about this incident goes to MusicRadar.com, whose article headline is, David Lee Roth puts nuts in mouth, almost dies.

David Lee Roth is famous for what comes out of his mouth, but the Van Halen vocalist almost died recently for what he instead put into his mouth.

Joking aside, this is a problem for millions of people, actually. Kinda freaky if you start thinking about all the stuff that has nuts in it. Here’s a wallet guide if you’re a nut allergy sufferer. Another exerpt from the MusicRadar.com article:

We at MusicRadar extend a heartfelt thanks to the police officers and medical staff, not only for restoring Roth to good health but, more importantly, sparing us all from having to deal with the thought of Sammy Hagar rejoining Van Halen.

We share MusicRadar’s sentiments. Nutty as David Lee Roth is, that had to have been a frightening experience. But what’s everybody’s problem with the Red Rocker? Is it because he can’t drive 55? I suppose no article about David Lee Roth can resist a Sammy Hagar dig, just like it’s hard to resist linking to the Just a Gigolo music video or say, doctoring a picture from said video.

Tags: 80s music, allergic reaction, allergies, canada, david lee roth, nuts, police, red rocker, sammy hagar, van halen