OUR Gary RosingtonAmerican guitarist, songwriter and sole remaining founding member of the rock band. Lynyrd Skynyrddied at the age of 71.

The cause of death has not yet been established. “We are sad to announce that today we have lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist Gary Rosington. Gary is now in heaven with the rest of the band and family (…) Please pray for Dale, Mary, Annie and the entire family Rosington and respect their privacy during this difficult time.”

As Rolling Stone reported, Rosington avoided death more than once. In 1976, he survived a car accident when he crashed his car into a tree. A year later, he was injured in a 1977 plane crash that killed singer Ronnie Van Zandt, guitarist Steve Gaines and singer Cassie Gaines.

“It was terrible. You can’t talk about it and not feel about it,” he told the magazine in 2006.

In later years, Rosington underwent five bypasses, suffered a heart attack in 2015, and underwent heart surgery several times.

Rosington was born December 4, 1951 in Jacksonville, Florida. He grew up with his mother when his father died. When he met drummer Bob Burns and bassist Larry Genstrom, Rosington and his new friends formed a band: Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The musician also told Rolling Stone that he never considered Skynyrd a “tragic band” despite the drama and death the band has endured. “I don’t think of it like that, but as events that happen in life,” he said in 2006. “I think the good outweighs the bad.”

According to the Associated Press