Philip Walden Jr., the son of Capricorn Records co-founder Phil Walden, was killed in a freak accident Tuesday night in Atlanta.
The incident happened about 8:25 p.m. in a parking deck at the Piedmont Driving Club on Piedmont Avenue.
Atlanta police spokeswoman Kim Jones told the AJC that, according to witnesses, Walden was found pinned between a concrete pillar and his truck door.
“It appeared the victim placed the vehicle in reverse, and then noticed his sunglasses had fallen outside of his truck,” Jones said.
Walden apparently opened the driver’s door “and attempted to grab his sunglasses from the ground while keeping his foot on the brake,” Jones said. “At some point, the vehicle rolled back, possibly from his foot coming off the brake, pinning him against the pillar.”
Jones said that the woman who discovered Walden “went and retrieved additional club members to assist."
“The club members were able to pull the vehicle forward to free the victim and begin administering first aid until the paramedics arrived,” Jones said.
Walden, an Atlanta lawyer, was taken to Atlanta Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner said Walden, 48, died of blunt force injury to the chest.
Walden’s father, who died of cancer in 2006, was co-founder of Macon-based Capricorn Records and was manager for soul singer Otis Redding during the 1960s.
Phil Walden Jr. grew up around Capricorn, which was a major player in the “southern rock” genre and counted among its musicians the Allman Brothers and the Marshall Tucker Band. He later worked for his father’s record company before moving to Atlanta to practice law.
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