Saturday, September 20, 2008

DJ AM and Band Members Injured In Plane Crash - Breaking News!

Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and DJ AM were critically injured in a plane crash last night in South Carolina, rweported MTV. They had just performed at a free T-Mobile sponsored show in the Five Points area, along with Perry Farrell and headliner Gavin DeGraw. Barker and DJ AM (Nicole Richie’s ex beau) were the house band for the 2008 MTV’s video music awards. [DJ AM and Travis Barker backstage here in picture on Friday]
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According to Lynne Douglas, public information officer for the Columbia Metro Airport, the crash took place just before midnight on Friday and involved a private Learjet with six passengers onboard. While taking off, the plane, which never left the ground, began sending up sparks and skidded off the end of the runway through a fence separating the airfield from a nearby roadway. It then crossed the roadway and ended up in an embankment, catching fire on impact. Douglas said two passengers — who were later confirmed to be AM and Barker — escaped the aircraft while it was on the ground, while the other two passengers and crew members died in the crash. 

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Beth Frits, a spokesperson for the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia, confirmed that AM (born Adam Goldstein) and Barker were transported to a hospital in Columbia, following the crash. They were transferred AM by helicopter and Barker by ambulance to the Still Center soon after. Both men sustained extensive burns. 

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Lexington County Deputy Coroner Brian Setree confirmed for MTV News on that three men and a woman were killed in the crash. Just after 10 a.m. today. Setree identified two of the crash victims: the plane's pilot, Sarah Lemmon, 31, of Anaheim, California, and her co-pilot, James Bland, who was 52 and lived in Carlsbad, California. At 10:40, Setree confirmed that Barker's assistant, Chris "Little Chris" Baker, also died in the crash. He was 29, and lived in Studio City, California.