Former Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Robert Burns Jr. dies in car crash

Robert Burns, Jr.
(Image credit: Screenshot)

Robert Burns Jr., the former drummer for hard rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, died late Friday night in a single-car crash in Georgia, The Associated Press reports. He was 64 years old.

A Georgia State Patrol spokeswoman said Burns' car went off a curve in a road near Cartersville, striking a tree. The accident remains under investigation. Burns was one of the founding members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, in Jacksonville, Florida. He left the band in 1974, but not before working with the group on such hits as "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird." —Sarah Eberspacher

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.