Robert Burns Jr. | Skynyrd cofounder, 64

Robert Burns Jr., 64, the former drummer and a founding member of the Southern hard-rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, died Friday in a single-vehicle crash in Georgia, police and his father said.

Mr. 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.

Mr. Burns was one of five musicians who founded the band in Jacksonville, Fla. While he was with the group, it recorded "Sweet Home Alabama," "Gimme Three Steps," and "Free Bird." He left the group in 1974.

- AP