January 28, 2009 Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist dies at Florida home

ORANGE PARK, Fla. (AP) - A keyboardist for the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd has died at his northeast Florida home.

Orange Park Police Lt. Mark Cornett says 56-year-old keyboard player Billy Powell called 911 about 12:55 a.m. Wednesday saying he was having trouble breathing. Rescue crews performed CPR, but he was pronounced dead at 1:52 a.m.

Cornett says no foul play is suspected and an autopsy will not be performed.

He says Powell missed a Tuesday appointment with his doctor for a cardiac evaluation. A heart attack is suspected.

Powell was one of two surviving band members who were with the group before a 1977 plane crash that killed three of its members.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)