Robert Burns Jr., the former drummer and founding member of rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, died late Friday in a single-vehicle crash in Georgia, police and his father said. He was 64.
Burns' vehicle went off a road just before midnight as it approached a curve near Cartersville, striking a mailbox and a tree, Georgia State Patrol spokeswoman Tracey Watson said. Burns, who was not wearing a seatbelt, died in the wreck.
The accident remains under investigation, and Watson said further details were not immediately available.
Burns was one of five musicians who founded the band in Jacksonville, Florida. While he was with the group, it recorded "Sweet Home Alabama," ''Gimme Three Steps," and "Free Bird." Burns left the group in 1974.
He continued to play for fun or in guest appearances nationally, according to his father, Robert Burns Sr. Early on, Lynyrd Skynyrd played in the Burns' family garage.
"He was a product of his mother, so far as manners is concerned," the elder Burns said. "He had the manners that would suit the King of England. Very soft-spoken and extremely well-mannered person to come out of that kind of industry."
Original band member Gary Rossington expressed his condolences on Saturday in a Facebook post.
"My heart goes out to [Burns'] family and God bless him and them in this sad time," Rossington wrote. "He was a great great drummer."
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In 1977, three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd died in a plane crash, according to the band's official website.
Additional reporting by Mashable