Joey Covington in 2005
Mike FANOUS/Gamma-Rapho/Getty
A Riverside County coroner’s report says the 67-year-old Palm Springs resident wasn’t wearing a seat belt when his car hit a retaining wall at about 5 p.m. Tuesday. He died at the scene.
The Palm Springs Desert Sun reports that police don’t believe alcohol or drugs were involved.
A friend, Keith McCormick, tells the paper that Covington’s wife, Lauren, suspects he had a stroke or heart attack before the accident.
Covington replaced Spencer Dryden as the Airplane’s drummer from 1970-72. Before that, he was with the Airplane offshoot Hot Tuna and played congas on the 1969 Airplane album Volunteers. He co-wrote several Airplane songs, including “Pretty as You Feel” and the 1976 tune “With Your Love.”
