Grammy-award-winning songwriter Brett James , known for writing Carrie Underwood ’s hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel” (2005), died in a plane crash on Thursday in North Carolina, according to ABC News . He was 57.

WLOS noted James was on board a small-engine plane that went down in Macon County near Franklin, North Carolina, around 3 p.m. on Thursday. James was one of three people killed in the crash, including Melody Carole and Meryl Maxwell Wilson. The National Transport Safety Board is currently investigating the crash.

Brett James Cornelius was born on June 5, 1968. He initially intended to pursue a career in medicine, but left medical school in the early 1990s to become a musician. James signed to Career Records, a subsidiary of Arista Nashville, in 1995 and released a solo album

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