*S. African reggae sensation Lucky Dube died Thursday night after being shot in apparent carjacking attempt and crashing into a car and tree after trying to drive away, police told the Associated Press Friday.

The singer, 43, was shot in front of his son, whom he was dropping off in Johannesburg's southern Rosettenville suburb, according to Police Capt. Cheryl Engelbrecht.

"His son was already out of the car. When he saw what was happening. He ran to ask for help," she said.

The newspaper quoted an unidentified witness as saying Dube's son had exited the car, a Chrysler sedan, when the singer was approached by two men who opened his door and shot him twice. The wounded musician drove away and hit another car, causing him to lose control and hit a tree, the newspaper reported.

As of press time, police were still looking for the perpetrators.

Dube recorded more than 20 albums in a career spanning more than two decades. The singer adopted a reggae style in the 1980s to vent his frustration against South Africa's former racist white-minority regime.