Opry Member Billy Walker, Dead At 77

NASHVILLE, TN. (www.opry.com) - As reported on www.opry.com, Grand Ole Opry member Billy Walker, 77, died early Sunday morning in an automobile accident that also claimed the lives of his wife, Bettie, 61, and band members Charles Lilly Jr., 44, and Daniel Patton Sr., 40.

The Walkers' grandson Joshua Brooks, 21, of Hendersonville, was also critically injured in the one-vehicle crash that took place on Interstate 65 south of Montgomery, Ala. Walker and his band were driving back toward Middle Tennessee, having performed Saturday night at the Palm Lake Opry & RV Park in Foley, Ala., when their van ran off the interstate and overturned, according to Alabama state troopers.