Allen Collins, who lost fellow members of the rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd in a 1977 plane crash and was paralyzed four years ago in a drunken driving accident, died of pneumonia at age 37.
Collins suffered respiratory failure Tuesday, said Memorial Medical Center spokeswoman Karen Bowling. He had been hospitalized in Jacksonville, Fla., since September, she said.Collins entered the hospital with pneumonia symptoms and had been in a coma for the last few days, said longtime friend Ann Thompson.
Thompson described Collins as the "most energetic, caring, giving person I ever met." Collins began his rise to success as the lightning-fingered guitarist for the Jacksonville band formed in 1966 by a group of high school students. The band enjoyed national fame in the 1970s with such hits as "Free Bird," "Gimme Three Steps" and "Sweet Home Alabama."
Collins is survived by two teenage daughters, Amie and Allison, his mother and father, and a sister, all of Jacksonville.