Moakler rushes to hospital in Georgia, her mother tells People.com.
By Chris Harris
Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler
Photo: Adrian Sidney/ WireImage
Shanna Moakler, the ex-wife of Travis Barker and the mother of their 4-year-old son, Landon, and 2-year-old daughter, Alabama, left for Georgia Saturday morning (September 20) to be by the former Blink-182 drummer’s side, People.com reports. Barker is being treated for “extensive burns” at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia, which he sustained Friday night in a plane crash in Columbia, South Carolina, that killed four people. DJ AM (born Adam Goldstein) is also being treated for serious burns resulting from the accident.
According to TMZ.com, Barker sustained burns from the waist down, while AM suffered facial burns; UsMagazine.com reported that AM was in a doctor-induced coma and will undergo skin grafts. Both sites cited unnamed sources; MTV News was unable to confirm those reports at press time.
According to Barker’s former mother-in-law, Gail Moakler, who spoke to People.com Saturday afternoon, Moakler is “totally crushed,” adding that, “Our heart pours out. We’re hoping he recovers. The family is rallying around him and saying our prayers.”
Meanwhile, AM’s sister, Lara, and her husband, Benjamin Long, are also on their way to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center, after learning of the crash from AM’s mother.
“We’re in shock,” Benjamin Long told the site. “Nobody expects something like this. We’re waiting to hear more.”
AM’s former fiancee, Nicole Richie, “is in shock,” UsMagazine.com reported on Saturday, citing an unidentified “pal” of RIchie’s. “She wishes only the best for Adam and hopes he recovers from this,” the friend reportedly told the site. “She’s horribly upset about the people who died.” The friend added that Richie’s current beau, Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden, “knows Travis and also feels terrible and hopes they recover. This is terrible news for both of them.”
Just before midnight on Friday, a twin-engine private Learjet carrying AM, Barker, his assistant and body guard was scheduled to depart for Van Nuys, California, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. While taking off, the plane overran the runway, struck an antenna array and several lights and began sending up sparks. It skidded off the end of the runway, crossed a roadway and crashed into an embankment. The plane caught fire on impact.
Lexington County Deputy Coroner Brian Setree confirmed for MTV News on Saturday morning that three men and a woman were killed in the crash: the plane’s pilot, Sarah Lemmon, 31, of Anaheim, California; co-pilot James Bland, 52, of Carlsbad, California; Barker’s assistant, Chris “Little Chris” Baker, 29, of Studio City, California; and Barker’s security guard, Charles Still, 25, of Los Angeles.
According to People, Barker’s children are unaware that their father has been injured, and Gail Moakler claims Barker and Moakler are still very close. “There’s still love between them,” she said. “She spends a lot of time with him. Their priorities are their kids. We’re waiting a bit to see what God brings. Shanna spoke to Travis last night. He was defiant after the accident and didn’t want to be lifted in a helicopter, but rather an ambulance, so they had to knock him out.”
Long said AM’s family is thankful the DJ was able to escape the plane with Barker. The two exited the plane, and according to one eyewitness, ran from the crash site and patted each other down to extinguish the flames.
“The whole thing is crazy,” Long said. “We feel horrible about those who didn’t [survive]. It’s just awful.”
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