Former White House Jazz Performer Dies in Accident

Local jazz bassist Gene “Joe” Byrd was identified as the man who died after firefighters pulled him from the wreckage in the Maryland on Tuesday, according to Anne Arundel County police.

Byrd, 78, of Edgewater was turning left from Lee Airpark Drive in his Volvo when a GMC Yukon struck his car in the driver’s door area, police said.

“The Yukon was traveling south on Solomons Island Road when it proceeded through a red traffic signal and struck the Volvo,” according to the press release.

After arriving at the scene, firefighters and paramedics learned that Byrd was trapped in his car. While he was extricated from the vehicle, he suffered a cardiac arrest, said Anne Arundel County Fire Department spokesman Capt. James Rostek.

Police said Byrd suffered life-threatening injuries from the crash and was taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center, where he later died.

WTOP in Washington, DC, reported that Byrd was a renowned jazz bassist, who played at the White House for Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. 

Police said there is no initial evidence that excessive speed or alcohol were factors in the crash. The Yukon driver was not injured in the accident.