Bob Burns, 64, the founding drummer for the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd who appeared on some of the bands biggest hits, was killed in a single-vehicle crash over the weekend in Georgia.
It's the second tragedy to strike the Hall of Fame band. In 1977, a plane crash killed founding member and lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant and band members Steve and Cassie Gaines at the height of the band's success after the release of its album "Street Survivors,"
according to Ultimate Classic Rock.com.
Authorities told
Cartersville Patch that the vehicle Burns was driving was northbound on Tower Ridge Road on Friday night when it left the road while attempting to negotiate a right curve.
"After leaving the roadway, the driver struck a mailbox and a tree with the front of the vehicle," Georgia State Patrol spokesman Tracey Watson told Patch, adding that Burns was not wearing a seatbelt at the time and that it was raining heavily.
Burns left Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1974 after it recorded some of its most memorable hits like "Free Bird," "Sweet Home Alabama," "Gimme Three Steps," but would rejoin the band for special appearances, including when it was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006,
reported Rolling Stone.
Artimus Pyle, who would replace Burns on drums in the band, expressed his condolences on Facebook.
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