Hamilton metal band Skynet narrowly evaded disaster this week when the band’s van was totalled after slamming into the back of a transport truck.

The band was on the road from Saskatoon to Winnipeg when they blew out a tire while going 100 km/h, vocalist Blake Prince told CBC Hamilton. He was asleep in the backseat when he heard the tire explode.

“That woke me up instantly, as this wasn't my first near death experience while touring in a van. As soon as the tire popped, I gripped my bench as hard as I could. Scared to look up, I thought we were flipping,” Prince said. “I could only think how this is it — the end of our lives. I thought about my mom, my girlfriend, my family, my friends back home and how I wanted so bad to see them again.”

The van drove directly into the back of a transport truck, completely “annihilating” the band’s new $15,000 van, Prince says. The front passenger seat was especially mangled by the impact — and that had been where drummer Tim Burak had been sitting just 10 minutes before. Luckily, he had just hopped in back to grab a nap.

“Had Tim been sitting there, we would have lost him for sure,” Prince said. “We all should have been toast when looking at the scene of the accident. It has shaken us up more than I can explain, but we are trying to figure everything out, and the love and support we have received has made a terrible situation tolerable.”

While they poured out of the van reasonably unscathed, their gear wasn’t so lucky. All of their bass and guitar cabinets were sliding across the road, and some of Burak’s drums were cracked and split.

“One of our guitars was ejected from the road case and is beyond fixable,” Prince said.

Skynet has been on tour for just over two weeks. The tour started on the west coast of Canada before heading back towards Ontario. Now, the band has launched an IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds to buy new gear. As of Tuesday morning, they had raised just over $3,500. Perks for donating include being featured doing backing vocals on the band’s new album and a personal house party in southern Ontario.

“We are lucky and beyond thankful to be alive, and to have such an amazing support system on our side,” Prince said. “We will continue to make music and tour the world.

“This is all we know how to do.”