FEELING THE BLUES

Driver With 100 Arrests Kills Grammy-Nominated Musician

Roderick “Rory” Macleod was best known for his work with 80s group Roomful of Blues.

A Grammy-nominated bass player was killed while walking his dog when he was struck by an SUV driven by a woman with at least 100 previous arrests. Roderick “Rory” MacLeod, 70, was declared dead after being hit on Saturday morning in Hopkinton, Rhode Island. His pet survived the crash and ran back to the family home. MacLeod was a longtime member of the band Roomful of Blues, which earned three Grammy nominations in the 1980s when he was its bassist. He was remembered as “upbeat and cheerful” by his former bandmate Doug James, with another band member paying tribute to “a good friend, bandmate, and wonderful spirit who was tragically stolen from us Saturday morning by a reckless driver.” The driver, identified as Sharon Godbut, 41 “left her lane and struck several objects, including two telephone poles and the pedestrian walking his dogs,” police said. She was arrested and found in possession of “numerous illegal narcotics and packaging materials commonly associated with drug distribution.” Police said she had previously been arrested over 100 times, issued 82 court warrants and 40 traffic citations. She was arraigned Tuesday.