SHORT TAKES : Lynyrd Skynyrd Guitarist Ailing

Allen Collins, who lost fellow members of his rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd in a 1977 plane crash and was paralyzed by a 1986 drunk driving accident, is critically ill, according to friends.

Collins, 37, has been hospitalized for 4 1/2 months at Memorial Medical Center of Jacksonville. His family has asked that that no further information be released on his illness or condition, a hospital spokesman said. They also asked that no one call or visit.

Two friends, Barry Harwood and Rick Reichard, said they had been told that the former guitarist is suffering from pneumonia and other respiratory infections.

Collins began his rise to success as the lightning-fingered guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd, formed in 1966 by a group of Lee High School students.

The band enjoyed national fame in the 1970s with such hits as “Free Bird,” “Saturday Night Special,” “Gimme Three Steps” and “Sweet Home Alabama.”