September 22, 2008

Travis Barker, DJ AM Expected To Make Full Recoveries Following Plane Crash

By James Montgomery (MTV.com)

Travis Barker and DJ AM suffered second- and third-degree burns in Friday night's jet crash, but both are expected to make a full recovery, doctors at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia, announced in a press conference Sunday morning (September 21).

Barker has burns on his torso and lower body, and AM has burns on a portion of his head and arm, but neither sustained any other injuries from the crash. Both are currently in "critical but stable" condition.

"I think these patients are going to make a full recovery," Dr. Fred Mullins, the Still Center's medical director told reporters. "Anybody who can survive a plane crash is very lucky."

Mullins would not comment on the types of treatment Barker and AM (born Adam Goldstein) were undergoing at the center, nor would he answer a reporter's question about what percentage of their bodies were burned. The two were originally transported to a hospital in Columbia, South Carolina, following the private jet crash that killed four people - including Barker's assistant, Chris "Little Chris" Baker, and security guard, Charles Still - but were then transferred to the Still Center for treatment of what a spokesperson for the facility called "extensive burns."

During the press conference, Mullins also read a statement from Barker's and AM's families.

"The families wish to thank fans all over the world for their prayers and concern. Deepest sympathy is expressed to the loved ones who perished in the crash," the statement read. "As the two recuperate and mourn this loss, privacy for them, their families and friends is requested at this time."

Several of the musicians' friends and family members have released statements reacting to the crash, including Barker's ex-wife Shanna Moakler, Fall Out Boy and Lindsay Lohan.

A spokesperson for the Still Center added in a statement that friends of Barker and AM may show their support by going to the hospital's Web site, Doctors-Hospital.net. Click on "Visitors," then "Email a Patient."