April 13th, 2013 
Jacob Tender 
We have some sad news to report tonight: it seems that Deftones bassist Chi Cheng has passed away.
After a car accident in Santa Clara, CA back in 2008, Chi suffered major injuries. He was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle. This accident left Cheng in a coma.
In 2010, the musician showed improvement, responding to commands and moving his legs. After showing more signs of rehabilitation, he was moved to his home for recovery.
Cheng died last night at 3am in the hospital. His family left the following note on a charity website made for him, Oneloveforchi.com.
“Our dearest Family,
This is the hardest thing to write to you. Your love and heart and devotion to Chi was unconditional and amazing. I know that you will always remember him as a giant of a man on stage with a heart for every one of you. He was taken to the emegency [sic] room and at 3 am today his heart just suddenly stopped. He left this world with me singing songs he liked in his ear.
He fought the good fight.You stood by him sending love daily. He knew that he was very loved and never alone. I will write more later. I will be going through the oneloveforchi and any other information may not be reliable. If you have any stories or messages to share please send them to the onelove site. Please hold Mae and Ming and the siblings and especially Chi’s son, Gabriel in your prayers. It is so hard to let go.
With great love and “Much Respect!” Mom J (and Chi)”
This is, of course, very sad news and we send our condolences to his family, friends, and band mates.
- UTG INTERVIEW: Lydia Talks ‘Run Wild’ On Their Headlining Tour - October 20, 2015
- UTG’s 31 Days Of Halloween: ‘Alien 3’ - October 5, 2015
- SINGLE REVIEW: Jonny X Kyle X Midnite – “Party And The Dream” - January 6, 2015
Posted in 
Tags: 
Deepest condolences :-(
sorry jess
We are at a great lost..
Be well Chi.
I had a friend who got sandwiched between two cars in front of my own eyes who wasn’t wearing a seat belt and he flew in to the passenger seat from the drivers seat luckily because the drivers seat got completely crushed and would have taken his legs off!
I thought the same thing!
So sorry to hear this! R.I.P. Chi!
Sadly, the number of months that you are in a coma greatly dimiish one’s chances of survival.
We love you Chi! See you on the other side brother. I hope the peace you feel now is overwhelming.
Ur*
So he was in a coma since 2008 and never came out of it? Am I reading that correctly?
Very sad news. May God be with his family.
Ask any first responder and they will tell you far more stories of pulling dead people from accidents who were not wearing a seat belt than who were. It simply comes down to the odds. You are far, far more likely to be saved by a seatbelt then killed by one. Don’t be a dumbass!
HULLO AGAIN.I’m not the only 1 sendin’ ‘dolences ,I’ve got some more dudes waitin’ in th’ wings.They’ll b sendin’ their reactionz soon.
Wearing a seat belt saved my life in a car accident. Most car accidents are head on or someone hitting you in the back which means wearing seat belt is nearly always advantageous.
Who cares about if he was wearing a seat belt or not . Gripe about it somewhere else a mother has lost her son . And a boy lost his brother try leaving the simple ignorant things off the post and support the people who need it like the mother and brother . My deepest prayers go out to your family for your loss
That being said, seatbelts save more lives than they don’t. That’s why a lot of cars have side air bags now.
Yo really who cares about you petty squabbles about wearing safety belts the bassist Chi from one of the most talent music outfits this world has ever seen has passed away just show some repect. My heart goes out to Chino and the rest of the boys must be fard as fuck for them right now.
my heart and prayers go out to Chi and his family..
Actually, if he was wearing a seal belt – his number wouldn’t be up. Let’s not play this destiny card
Rest in peace Brother.
Jesus I’m so sorry to hear that.
I have invested in a hammer looking safety device that has a seat belt cutter in it. I hope to never have to use it (I keep it in the console), but for anyone out there who may want to keep on in their car, it may save you. Check your local auto supply store. Sorry for your loss, Jessica.
:'(
Much LOVE and healing energy to Momma J, Gabriel, and the rest of Chi’s family!!
We in Face The King wish the deepest condolences to the Cheng family. He has always been a major inspiration to us as well as and hundreds of thousands of other musicians and listeners growing up. While your time on earth was limited, you will live forever in the hearts of music lovers everywhere. Chi Cheng, you will forever be missed. Rock on.
Chi, give my wife my love
mike, our brother will be missed and cherished for sure, my thoughts to you and the family, morada
My sincerest condolances and sympathies for the family. Let us remember the good times he gave us and PLEASE remember to buckle up!
wow, thats some bullshit right there.
*poop
chi i’ll miss you till i die !!
im at a lose for words. Its very sad, but death is a part of life we all know and will face ourselfs im not saying it makes it easy, its just the way it is but without the dark one would never truly see the light. To Chi’s family i wish i had the words to take your pain but i dont all i can say is keep your heads up its always goin to be with you cause time only makes it easier. There is still a little Chi here thats the worst to me his son but know that ur dad was a great musician that inspired millions of our lifes and made music that i am sure saved some of our lifes so that made him a hero. Dont let his passing serve a purpose to buckle up “really people” think about it, to me thats like if you were the fat kid im going to use you as a purpose to remind the world to lose weight thats not cool. Im a fan have been since Adrenaline and now 7 albums later im still a fan even when i got pissed cause Chino had to cancel shows for throat problems. Im just thankful i got to see them the times i did. Im a fan and also someone who has lost a child as well so im not going to get so lost in the heartbreak that i forget the love and inspiration that Deftones has given to me since i was a kid .
ONE LOVE R.I.P CHI CHENG
I’m so sorry to hear that. Although I think seatbelts will still save more than they hurt, it makes me think why this isn’t factored into cars these days?
I mean, they can make all kinds of fancy new inventions for cars, they can’t create some quick release mechanism that senses when the car is off and not moving? (or some other intelligent combination of circumstances). Maybe even have a button located at the top part of the belt where it connects to the car that releases it easily. SOMETHING!
I believe that could be done pretty easily with all of the other stuff that’s been going on with cars and safety. Cars can almost drive themselves (some already can).
That’s not true, because I’ve known people who died BECAUSE of wearing a seatbelt.
like anyone cares what you think.
Seriously why bother commenting, so rude