Alley 61

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Berry Oakley Crash Site — Macon, Georgia

Intersection of Napier Avenue and Cherokee Road
Macon, Georgia, United States

32.8401° N · -83.6348° W

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What happened here?

On November 11, 1972 — almost exactly one year after Duane Allman died — Allman Brothers Band bassist Berry Oakley was fatally injured in a motorcycle crash at the intersection of Napier Avenue and Cherokee Road in Macon, Georgia, just three blocks from the site of Allman's accident. Oakley struck a city bus and, despite initial appearances suggesting he was not seriously hurt, refused hospital treatment and was taken home by friends. He collapsed later that evening and died from brain swelling. He was 24 years old.

Oakley was a foundational member of the Allman Brothers Band, his melodic, fluid bass playing forming the rhythmic spine of the group alongside drummers Butch Trucks and Jaimoe. He had taken Duane's death especially hard and by many accounts had never truly recovered from the loss. The proximity of the two crashes — in location, in manner, and in age — has long struck fans as one of rock music's most chilling coincidences.

Berry Oakley is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, close to Duane Allman, in what has become one of the most visited rock music gravesites in the American South. The cemetery, where the band famously held rehearsals and found early inspiration, remains open to visitors.

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