Former drummer for Southern hard rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd dies in Georgia crash

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – The former drummer for the Southern hard rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, Robert Burns Jr., has died in a car crash in Georgia.

Georgia State Patrol spokeswoman Tracey Watson said Burns’ vehicle went off a curve in a road near Cartersville just before midnight Saturday, striking a mailbox and a tree. Burns was killed in the wreck. He was 64.

The single-vehicle accident remains under investigation, and Watson said further details were not immediately available.

Burns, a drummer, was one of five musicians who founded the band in Jacksonville, Florida. While Burns was with the band, it recorded “Sweet Home Alabama,” ”Gimme Three Steps,” and “Free Bird.”

Burns left the band in 1974.

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