Stephen Carpenter, (born August 3, 1973) is a US musician, the lead guitarist in Deftones. When he was younger, he was hit by drunk driver who broke both his legs, and was confined to a wheelchair. The insurance settlement as a result of this ended up in his favor and he acquired a large sum of money. This allowed him to purchase high-quality musical equipment for him and his bandmates. He has stated that his two favorite heavy metal bands are Meshuggah and Fear Factory.