DJ AM dies nearly a year after surviving airplane crash

Nearly a year after surviving a plane crash in South Carolina, disc jockey Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein was found dead in his New York apartment Friday afternoon, his publicist said. He was 36.

Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein was one of two people who survived a 2008 plane crash in South Carolina.

"The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear," his publicist, Jenni Weinman, said in a statement confirming the performer's death. "Out of respect for his family and loved ones, please respect their privacy at this time."

Goldstein was found unconscious and unresponsive in his lower Manhattan apartment Friday afternoon, New York police said. The cause of death would be determined by medical examiners, but "there is no criminality suspected at this time," a police statement reported.
Goldstein and Travis Barker, the former drummer for rock band Blink-182, were the only survivors of a September plane crash in South Carolina that left both critically injured. Four others aboard the plane were killed when the Learjet skidded off a runway during takeoff from Columbia.
 
"Daily I live with the guilt and grief of what happened that night, what I saw, who was lost and why I was spared," he wrote in a December post on his Web site. "I have no words to express the pain that comes with knowing four people died, while I lived."

In addition to spinning beats at clubs and festivals, Goldstein was known for dating reality-TV star Nicole Richie and singer-actress Mandy Moore.

"I am absolutely heartbroken," Moore said in a statement. "For those of us lucky enough to have known him, Adam radiated a contagious exuberance for life and also personified the very definition of a true friend. To say that he will be missed beyond words is an understatement. My heart goes out to his loved ones."

At the time of his death, he had been working on an MTV show about drug addiction that had been scheduled to debut in October. Goldstein himself had been a crack cocaine addict who said he wanted the show to help others recover.

Story from CNN.com