The “Soul Machine” show scheduled for this Friday at the Dog Bar has been regretfully canceled due to the critical injuries sustained by drummer and front man Neil Buckley.

Neil was leaving a gig at the Lynn Yacht Club last Saturday night when he was struck by another car.  Long time band mate and friend Joe Mac, along with the other members of Soul Machine, will be playing in his stead, as in impromptu benefit for Neil.  There will be numerous local musicians who have played with Neil over the years sitting in with Joe and Soul Machine in support of Neil and his family.  10% of all proceeds from the bar will got to Neil and his family.  Please come out and show your support for one of the nicest guys I’ve had the pleasure of working with.

Popular local musician was Lynnway crash victim By Thor Jourgensen / The Daily Item

Buckley, of 44 High St., Marblehead, was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with serious injuries following the collision and an explosion that Maes said ejected Buckley from the van.

“There was fire and glass flying everywhere. His car was totally in flames,” Maes said.

She said she handed Yacht Club member John Perry a fire extinguisher and Perry ran out to the roadway and sprayed fire retardant on Buckley.

“John was fabulous. If there was a hero, it was him,” she said.

Ronald McNeil heard the crash and the explosion and ran out of the Lynnway home he shares with his mother and went to the aid of the people in the vehicle that police said collided with Buckley’s van. His mother, Deborah, said her 17-year-old son pulled a woman from the Acura sedan after cutting her free from her seat belt.

“He was very scared,” Deborah McNeil said, “The heat was so intense he couldn’t believe it.”

State Police spokesman David Procopio identified the driver of the Acura sedan as Daniel E. Murillo-Robles, 21, of East Boston. Murillo-Robles was taken to Salem Hospital with serious injuries.

“Criminal charges against Murillo-Robles are possible,” Procopio wrote in an electronic mail statement on Monday.

Buckley is a well-known North Shore musician who has played with and taught fellow musicians for years, said Maes and friends like Victor Fitzgerald.

“He’s a great guy, an incredible musician. He’s been in 100 bands. He’s been down to Nashville,” said Fitzgerald, a Lynn resident who said Buckley’s skills include playing the drums and singing while standing up.

Porthole Pub General Manager Brian Gaudet said Buckley plays with other musicians in the Lynnway restaurant and bar every other month and was scheduled to perform at the Porthole in November. Buckley played last week at the Porthole and Maes said his appearance at the Lynn Yacht Club on Saturday with fellow Soul Machine band members was part of an evening marking the end of the club’s boating season.

“He is a great guy: He lived to do what he was doing,” said Porthole owner Robert Gaudet.

Fitzgerald said he spoke to Buckley about three months ago when Buckley invited him to stay temporarily in his Marblehead home.