Nicole Richie "broke down" upon hearing the heartbreaking news Saturday morning that her former fiance, celebrity spinner DJ AM, and former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker were injured in plane crash in which four people were killed on an airport runway in Columbia, S.C., a source told Pop Tarts.
Young Hollywood and the music industry were also shocked by the news.
"My prayers are with them — they are two people I just have so much respect for," Lauren Conrad of "The Hills" told Pop Tarts at Entertainment Weekly's pre-Emmys party on Saturday night, a star-studded soiree that DJ AM was also tipped to attend. "I just think it's amazing they survived; I hope everything goes OK."
A source close to AM (real name Adam Goldstein) told Pop Tarts that while the family is totally devastated, they are staying positive and strong, and they are just deeply thankful that he survived.
"He has text messaged a few very close friends and told them he's OK," our insider said.
DJ AM's fellow spinner Samantha Ronson and her gal pal Lindsay Lohan expressed their pain via their MySpace blogs over the weekend.
"It's so scary to think that life can end so fast — we must treasure each and every moment and be thankful for what we have," Lohan wrote, with Ronson adding on her blog that she really didn't know what to say as the news was just so horrifying.
Mandy Moore's rep confirmed to E! that the pop princess flew to be by her ex-beau Goldstein's side on Saturday. Meanwhile, Barker's ex-wife Shanna Moakler immediately raced across the country to be by his bedside, People magazine reported.
"We're still best friends," Barker told Pop Tarts at a recent event. "Sometimes I think we loved each other too much and that's why it didn't work."
According to doctors at the Joseph Still Burn Center in Augusta, Ga., both men have second- and third-degree burns, but are expected to make a full recovery. via
