Allen Collins suffered two cracked vertebrae in his neck, and both Collins and Leon Wilkeson nearly had arms amputated as a result of crash injuries. Medical personnel arrived and began to ferry out the injured and the dead. Video of a barechested Pyle at the 1979 Volunteer Jam does not show evidence of a gunshot wound. Pyle claimed in a February 2007 appearance on Howard Stern's Sirius radio program that Mote had shot him Mote has always denied shooting the drummer. Varying accounts have Mote either firing a warning shot into the air or actually shooting Pyle in the shoulder - no report is completely reliable. The three injured men hiked some distance from the crash site, through swampy woods, and finally flagged down farmer Johnny Mote, who had come to investigate. Drummer Artimus Pyle crawled out of the plane wreckage with several broken ribs, but was ambulatory, as were road crew members Kenneth Peden Jr. Other band members were injured, some very seriously. The crash killed singer/songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist/vocalist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray. A chartered Convair 240, N55VM, carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina to LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana crashed near a forest in McComb, Mississippi. Lynyrd Skynyrd's legend is grounded in a plane crash that occurred on October 20, 1977, three days after the release of Street Survivors. Well, this isn't the autopsy report - but it's the next best thing, since it describes all the injuries in graphic detail! Was the subject of the 2001 Southern Rock Opera album by The Drive-by Truckers. Planned to produce the debut album for fellow southern rockers Molly Hatchet, but was tragically killed in the plane crash before he could do so. ![]() ![]() One of the writers is a big Lynyrd Skynyrd fan. The song "Free Bird" was written as a simple love song, but later came to be dedicated in concert to guitarist Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band, who died in a motorcycle crash October 1971.Ī character in the supernatural thriller called The Coffin (2008) was named after him, in his honor. After Ronnie's death, his brother Johnny was hired to replace him in Lynyrd Skynyrd. crash report.īrother Donnie was a founding member of rock band. "Street Survivors" was released on Monday October 17 1977, Ronnie died on Thursday October 20 1977, about 18.52 Central Daylight Time, according to the N.T.S.B. In both of the photos, Van Zant is wearing a Neil Young "Tonight's the Night" t-shirt (an album which thematically explores premature rock star death). It had been on the market for only 3 days at the time of the band's plane crash, so it was recalled and replaced with a photo that originally appeared on the back cover. The first pressing of Lynyrd Skynyrd's final album "Street Survivors" showed a photo of the band members engulfed in flames on the cover. His body has been moved to Riverside Memorial Park, however his original Memorial Mausoleum is still located at Jacksonville Memory Gardens. The elder Van Zant died on Augin Jacksonville, Florida of pulmonary problems. ![]() One of his biggest sources of support was his father Lacy Van Zant. His wife, Judy, remembered that Ronnie once said he did not wish to have people "gawking" at his body, so she made it a closed casket funeral. Ronnie had a bruise about the size of a quarter on his temple (which was the cause of death - blunt head trauma). Many thought this to be because he was horribly disfigured or even decapitated during the 1977 plane crash. ![]() The song "I Take A lot Of Pride In What I Am" was played as Ronnie was laid to rest. Ronnie was buried with his fishing pole and his trademark black hat. Was buried next to Steve and Cassie Gaines at Jacksonville Memorial Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida The song "Freebird" is now played as a musical tribute in Ronnie's memory.Ģ brothers: Johnny Van Zant and Donnie Van Zant. On June 29 2000, his grave was vandalized, this prompted his family to move his remains to an unknown location. Can`t find any funeral pics, but the trivia I found was pretty interesting.the day that plane crashed, was a total nightmare for me.I loved Skynard.maybe someone else will have better luck.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |