Atlanta ( CNN ) Robert Lewis Burns Jr. , the original drummer in Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd , died Friday night in a car crash , a Georgia State Patrol spokesman said . Burns , 64 , died after his car hit a mailbox and a tree in Cartersville , spokesman James Tallent said . No other cars were involved in the crash , which occurred shortly before midnight . `` He was not restrained at the time of the crash , '' Tallent told CNN . The musician lived in northern Georgia . Burns was part of the genre-defining band 's original lineup , which formed in Jacksonville , Florida , in 1965 . Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant started Noble Five with Burns , guitarists Gary Rossington and Allen Collins and bassist Larry Junstrom in their hometown . It then made a name change in a reference to a high school gym teacher . Lynyrd Skynyrd changed members over the years as it produced rock anthems including `` Sweet Home Alabama '' and `` Freebird . '' Burns left the band before its third studio album , `` Nuthin Fancy , '' in 1975 , `` exhausted by touring , '' according to the band 's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame biography . He was not involved in the 1977 plane crash that killed three members , including Van Zant . The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 . Lynyrd Skynyrd still tours with Rossington , the only original member still in the band . `` Today I 'm at a loss for words but I just remember Bob being a funny guy , '' Rossington said on the band 's official Facebook page . `` My heart goes out to his family and God bless him and them in this sad time . He was a great great drummer . '' People we 've lost in 2015 .
Robert Lewis Burns Jr. was part of Georgia State Patrol original lineup . His car hit a mailbox and a tree just before midnight .