He died 87 days before that pivotal date. Collins had every reason to self-medicate. Debra Watts Lizama, 31, who lived with Collins, was killed in the accident, said Mike Kee, a police spokesman. By dawn almost 3,000 people had come to the crash zone and the carcass of the plane had been picked clean. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. Immediate Family: Daughter of Horace Lionel WATTS and Arlena Ann Miller. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) _ A former member of the Lynyrd Skynyrd rock group remained hospitalized in serious condition today, suffering from injuries he received in an accident that killed a passenger in his car. The man scrambled off the tour bus, with Van Zant in pursuit, only to be met by a crowd of the mans pals bigger, brawnier and more lethal than their friend. Debra Jean Watts entered eternal rest Tuesday, January 28, 2020, in Durango. Detective D.B. With little choice, Allen pleaded guilty to DUI charges. Maybe she grabbed the wheel. Nor do they have the will. All the money that was in my pockets was taken. The temper of the Van Zants. One thing I surely remember is he was very protective of Allen. This was late summer in 1985. He saw his old friends when he came off the road and he loved to fish would fish with anybody. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. After a few weeks Di Blasio disappeared, perhaps because he was resentful about not being included in the new Collins project. His name was Scott Sisson. Can you imagine all these women sitting around a table in the house and none of them knowing if their husbands were alive or dead after theyd been in this plane crash? Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. He later went after the road manager with a pickaxe. I fail to see any humor in this. Keith Richards, he said, had shown it to him personally (this was a credible claim since the Stones and Skynyrd at one point shared a manager, Peter Rudge). Cause: pneumonia resulting from injuries sustained in the car accident. When the tragedy happened, I was the one who flew out with Lacy to identify the bodies, says Barnes. After a performance in November 1981, he got a phone call telling him that his heavily pregnant wife had started bleeding in a movie theatre and was rushed to a local hospital, where she later died. And if you believe in such things, hes watching over them still. Debra Watts (Debra Holloway Watts) See Photos. In 1986, Mr. Collins's car ran off a road and crashed into a culvert, paralyzing him from the waist down and killing his girlfriend, Debra Jean Watts. Silver bullets from Gimme Back My Bullets. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. It was the closest they had come to any sense of normality after the crash. Failed to report flower. Price and I came into the club one afternoon and the drums and sound system, which De Blasio owned, were gone. Van Zants lip would curl into a surly half moon as he spat out the lyrics to on On The Hunt, Poison Whiskey or Things Going On. This account has been disabled. The pilot radioed to the Houston [Texas] Air Route Traffic Control Center, telling the staff they were low on fuel, and requested vectors for a tiny airstrip in McComb, Mississippi. Not only had his band been destroyed in a plane crash, he himself had suffered a broken neck and nearly lost an arm. At the end of Free Bird hed get rid of the mic and take off his sunglasses and stare at the audience, recalls Billy Powell. Obituary of Deborah Jean Watts. Wife of Private. Wife of Private She will be forever remembered by her two sons, Gerald and Rick (Shelagh); two daughters, Laurie and Maryann (Alex); six grandchildren, Cameron (Maureen), Brandon (Chelsea),. Had he been older and wiser, he says, he never would have climbed those rickety steel stairs. This is a carousel with slides. Over the course of his life, Ronnie Van Zant was arrested 12 times five of them occurring during the last year of his life and he had suffered enough bruises of his own to show he didnt always pick on the little guy. There is a huge dent in the trunks lid. She looks off into the distance, pushing a strand of blonde hair off of her eyes. He was born May 23, 1947 in Louisville, KY, the son of Marion H. and Wilma Jean (Hamilton) Watts and had been an Ashtabula resident most of his life. A year after the plane crash, Gregg Allman wanted to form a band with Gary Rossington and Allen Collins. I told him that it was the strongest thing I had seen a man do., Lacy Van Zant always insisted he warned his son not to get on that plane. amzn_assoc_linkid = "3dade7dca27a107e53fc9f079283fe14"; Clara Bawol. It broke up in 1982. Jean was a Huntsville native and the eldest daughter of Vastus and Milton Cummings. Divorce. Try again. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Im on the bandstand; Collins comes rushing toward me with a key-lime pie; I duck; he misses me and flings key-lime goo into my Echoplex. He most likely did that while Debra was driving, Reynolds adds. He was older than both Allen and Gary. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. No longer able to play guitar, Collins career was over. Rossington doesnt need aches and pains to remind him of that day its something that will haunt him forever. Liked it? With Koopers help, Skynyrd landed the support slot on the American leg of The Whos Quadrophenia tour. She was born June 7, 1955 in Louisville to parents, Gobel & Maxine (Renner) Walton. Introduced by Al Kooper as the American Rolling Stones, Skynyrd proceeded to sing about how the former Blues Project founder had discovered them. Beverly passed away on April 8, 2020, at the young age of 48. Charlesworth, however, chalks the plane crash up to just dumb bad luck. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. Obituary for Constance Sue Gutmann. The 20 injured had to wait in the mud for hours, while police and emergency workers carved out a makeshift road through the woods. It was so weird because some of them thought that maybe I had something to do with it, but I had nothing to do with it.. Debra Watts. Anyone actually listening would know that wasnt true. You could say he always knew his own mind. Because none of the reconstituted band members can write a song that can get near to anything Van Zant ever wrote. Leon Wilkeson suffered a broken jaw, a crushed chest and internal bleeding and was declared dead not once, but three times, waking up only to say he had been sitting on a cloud-shaped log with Ronnie and Duane Allman. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. No band that has ever opened for The Who has ever gotten an encore. Who manager Peter Rudge remarked at the time. Allen Collins was badly injured in that accident. I saw them screaming and crying, and I saw fire. You can always change this later in your Account settings. At their first show at San Franciscos Cow Palace, they saw how daunting it could be. Scuffling to survive, Price, De Blasio and I travel to Vidalia, Ga., to become the weekend house band at the Golden Nugget, a medium-sized nightclub. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, About six months after Ronnies death, I woke up in the middle of the night. Failed to remove flower. Those in the front of the plane came off worse thats where Ronnie, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines and road manager Dean Kilpatrick were sitting, he tells Classic Rock. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Allen Collins father had just begun showing up about the same time the cheques did, according to one member of the band. The pain, the scars, the metal rod in one arm frequent reminders of October 20, 1977, the day Lynyrd Skynyrds plane went down near McComb, Mississippi. I just couldnt help but try to imagine the horror of the scene. But before that, he went up to Honkette Jo Jo Billingsley, and did something that unnerved her. Collins, who is still undergoing treatment for injuries from the wreck, survived the 1977 plane crash that killed three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and then went on to found Rossington-Collins. Theres a short-cut on State Road 15 running through Blackshear that leads back to U.S. 1. He wanders over to a table where there is a birthday cake set out. AP News - 814 days ago. Its passed on and on.. How old is Debra Jean Lizama? Trying to stay calmI realize he is messing with our headsI say, Allen, who is going to clean up your nice leather seats?, I mean you are scaring the shit out of us., Allen, if you want to kill yourself, thats fine, but please dont take us with you., He turns back to face us, left hand on the wheel, still doing 50 mph. He laughs. Collins grabs the mic. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. The tale boasts all the elements of a southern gothic soap opera. Those at the back were less badly injured. In addition to probation, the judge ordered Collins to organize and participate in an anti-drunk-driving campaign. Collins wanted to put a new Allen Collins Band together, and he wanted me as lead singer and second guitarist. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. One story has it that Ronnie would point his finger at a spot in water and tell his fishing companion to put his pole at exactly the spot and within minutes a fish would be flapping on the hook. Neither did Larkin Collins. Someone from the audience eventually got up and helped him. There are others who swear its his head hes carrying, Judy Van Zant recalled a dream she had, shortly after she had buried her husband. Allen Collins life went on a slope from there. Collins served as musical director. They went through our suitcases. Frank Carney, Co-founder of Pizza Hut. Collins and other group members survived the accident. I really dont knowno one doeswhat happened on the night of January 29, 1986, but knowing Collins I have pretty fair idea. You dont forget a night like that easily.. See Photos. Thats where I would have sat, because I didnt know any of the crew, who sat in the back., We hit the trees at what seemed like 100 miles an hour. I went down to meet with Gregg, who wanted to join up with them. Place of Burial: Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, United States of America. He chose Randall Hall, who had been in the Allen Collins Band, as his replacement. The members of Lynyrd Skynyrd were strangely united by one thing. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/169042187/debra-jean-lizama. I bet Allen was driving and ran over it.. He already had a drummerwho doubled as his chauffeurso De Blasio was left out. Scrambling in the dark fearful of snakes, alligators, or worse the three finally flagged down a farmer named Johnny Mote, who had come to investigate what the mighty noise was that jarred him out of his house. She was preceded in death by her father, Oscar Rudolph Watts, and her mother Reba Brinson Brannon. Artimus, with a broken sternum and three of his ribs poking out of the skin in his chest, made his way to a farm house a painful three-quarters of a mile away, impelled by one thought. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. Violence was just part of the culture there. They go to the motel, get their stuff, and head back to Jacksonville, a two-hour drive. Drummer Artimus Pyle and crew members Ken Peden and Mark Frank stumbled through the wreckage to go for help. One day I went up to Gary and said, What happened to I want to be the best band in the world I shall not be denied? continues Reed. He told me, Daddy, that pilot can fly through the eye of a hurricane and land in a corn field. It turns out that he was wrong., The funeral wasnt held for Ronnie Van Zant until almost a week later, mostly because his wife Judy was falling apart. Geni requires JavaScript! Except Cassie [Gaines], explains Elson. Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, United States of America. See Photos. Sign Up. Maybe it had more to do with the fact that Allman once dated Van Zants winsome wife Judy There was always a whiff of competitiveness between the two of them. He is out cold with his feet still up on the railing, sort of hanging there. He puts his guitar down and says, Ill be right back. After waiting an hour, we go into the house to look for him. They even went out and took the side of the plane that was painted Lynyrd Skynyrd., The thing I think of is the constant telephone calls with Judy Van Zant who was at Ronnies house, remembers Charlesworth. They were naturally a bit crazy in various ways and all that meeting with The Who did was light the fuse. With their tales of beautiful losers, thwarted romance and dashed ambition, Skynyrd were a more menacing bunch. We had problems on the plane before that last flight, Elson says. Hed give you the shirt off his back, remembers his brother Donnie. I had to hold it up for him and fasten his strap (see photo). The strength that this man displayed was monumental. He dove into a bottle and never came out.. "The entire operation is lopsided. Plus I was amused because he left his shoes on the side of the stage. I think they would have stuck in there. Debra was born April 19, 1955, to Max and Ellen House Watts in Durango, Colorado. The oft-told, star-crossed saga of Lynyrd Skynyrd has been portrayed as the convergence of opportunity, preparedness, talent and luck. He suffered from a severe damage to his right arm and two broken spinal columns. Debra Watts. The Beginning. I said Allen, please dont get on that plane. He said, Jo, its funny youd mention that, because I was looking out the window yesterday and I saw fire come out of the wing. [When I heard about the crash] the first thing I thought was, God saved my life. The Lord gave me that dream to warn me, and I did the only thing I could do and warned them. People are looking at each other wondering what to think. Before 10 minutes had passed, Gary Rossington had joined Van Zant at the bottom of a bloody heap and the singer suffered facial injuries that required he wear sunglasses onstage. He recalled when their first drummer Bob Burns snapped in a northern England hotel room in late 1974 on the bands first overseas trek, a breakdown the others say was triggered by an unhealthy number of viewings of the hit film, the The Exorcist. Debra Watts Lizama, 31, who lived with Collins, was killed in the accident, said Mike Kee, a police spokesman. The brackish water is dull with a green sheen, while Spanish moss drips from the branches of the oak and cypress trees, coating them in poisonous putrid icing, swallowing the sounds of animals and the snap of a gators jaws. I am speculatingthis is an educated guess, taken from experiencethat she probably yelled at him to slow down, pull over, stop acting so stupid. An amputation was recommended for him but his father disapproved. The first time I saw Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Allen Collins was in 1969, when I went with a group of hippies to the Comic Book Club in downtown Jacksonville, where One Percent was the house band, to score some acid. It grew to epic stature when they grafted on a mad combative closing coda that builds and tumbles on itself then doubles back again, making a nine-minute sonic edifice that stretches right across the Mason-Dixon line, purloining fills from Duane Allman and travelling all the way to London to sit at the right hand of Jeff Beck, siphoning off his Becks Bolero riffs. He never ever changed, either. The band, however, carried on with the help of several replacements taking the place of dying membersguitarist Gary Rossington is the only remaining founderand has been touring regularly since. When we were in Japan and Jack Daniels was $75 a bottle, Ronnie said, Im buying. But it was a fools paradise. Hed as soon smack you in the face as sit down and discuss something at great length. Year should not be greater than current year. Lois worked at NORPAC for part of her life. Ronnie Van Zant assembled this fatherless regiment, all in need of guidance and direction, and hammered them into a touring and recording machine. accessed ), memorial page for Debra Jean Watts Lizama (25 Oct 1954-29 Jan 1986), Find a Grave . Collins also claimed he had boinked Chaka Khan on Skynyrds tour bus. The bottle sails butt-first through the drywall, landing with its neck sticking out. Blackberry Smoke announces new album and tour dates, Lynyrd Skynyrd sues ex-drummer Artimus Pyle, Charlie Daniels announces official memoir, Marshall Tucker Band announces 45th Live in Concert tour, Butch Trucks, founding member of Allman Brothers Band, has died, Whiskey Myers kicks off their North American tour. But Gregg wanted them to call it Free Bird, so we dropped the idea. Taking his injuries into consideration, the assistant state attorney, Wayne Ellis, asked for leniency. We don't run annoying ads but The Jitney still needs gas. Moore estimated the car was traveling at 70 to 90 mph before the accident." Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! She'd been in failing health for several weeks. I know I drove a lot of people crazy but I wasnt going to put him in the ground and put dirt on him. Larry Junstrom (1949 - 2019) was a member of two prominent Southern Rock bands from Jacksonville: Lynyrd Skynyrd and 38 Special. She is survived by her children Heather Campbell and Matthew Watts; sisters Cecelia (John) Vanhooser and Tina (Mark) Davis and grandson Isaiah Campbell. Say he always knew his own mind his back, remembers his brother.... But his father disapproved the photos tab call it Free Bird, we. To U.S. 1 of hanging there and says, he says, Ill be right back they... Who did was light the fuse little choice, Allen pleaded guilty to DUI charges members write. He told me, Daddy, that pilot can fly through the drywall, landing with neck... 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