Crash victims treated in Augusta

Joseph Morales never imagined he'd be waiting in an Augusta emergency waiting room to hear the prognosis for a former member of his favorite band.

He and a group of about 10 friends gathered at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center on Saturday to show support for Travis Barker, once the drummer for Blink-182.

"They've been my favorite band since I was in fifth grade, and I'm 20 now," said Mr. Morales, who sports a tattoo on his calf of the cover of the band's album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket . "I'm a real big fan. I just hope he gets better."

Mr. Barker and Adam Goldstein, a popular disc jockey known as DJ AM, were in critical but stable condition at the burn center Saturday night after being injured in a fiery Learjet crash Friday night in Columbia, spokeswoman Beth Frits said.

According to People magazine, Mr. Barker's ex-wife, former Miss USA Shanna Moakler, flew out from Los Angeles on Saturday morning to be by his bedside. The pair, who divorced this year, have two children: son Landon, 4, and daughter Alabama, 2, the magazine reported.

Two other passengers -- Chris Baker, 29, of Studio City, Calif.; and Charles Still, 25, of Los Angeles -- died, as did pilot Sarah Lemmon, 31, of Anaheim Hills, Calif.; and co-pilot James Bland, 52, of Carlsbad, Calif., according to the county coroner. Mr. Baker was an assistant to Mr. Barker, and Mr. Still was a security guard for the musician.

Mr. Barker and Mr. Goldstein performed as TRVSDJ-AM for college students in a concert that ended around 7 p.m. in Columbia.

Mike Gulino, of Augusta, who was at the burn center along with Mr. Morales, said Blink-182's upbeat, punk-rock style sparked his interest in becoming the lead singer of a band.

"Their music made you happy and got you excited," he said. "I'm really just shocked that this happened."

The plane left Columbia Metropolitan Airport just before midnight, then crashed on a nearby embankment across a five-lane highway and was engulfed in flames, Debbie Hersman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, told The Associated Press. The plane was headed for Van Nuys, Calif. It is owned by Global Exec Aviation, a California-based charter company, and was certified to operate last year, Ms. Hersman said. The company said it had no immediate comment.

Investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder, which will be analyzed. Authorities investigating the crash had yet to rule any possible causes.

The airport remained closed Saturday night.

Mr. Barker, 32, was one of the more colorful members of the multiplatinum-selling Blink-182, whose biggest album was 1999's Enema of the State , which sold more than 5 million copies in the U.S. He also starred in the MTV reality series Meet the Barkers with Ms. Moakler.

Mr. Goldstein is a DJ for hire who spins a mix of hip-hop and dance beats for the hottest nightclubs and had a string of dates set up for the next few weeks.

Mr. Barker and Mr. Goldstein performed as part of the house band at the MTV Video Music Awards earlier this month.

More details on their conditions are expected at a 9 a.m. news conference today at Doctors Hospital.

Associated Press reports were used in this article.

Reach Stephanie Toone at (706) 823-3215 or stephanie.toone@augustachronicle.com.