Wimberly died on September 18, 1976, in Oak Ridge, Louisiana, from injuries he received in the crash of a private Piper aircraft. He and four other men from Oak Ridge were returning from Baton Rouge where they had attended the LSU – Oregon State football game. Upon attempting to land in heavy fog around midnight, the plane crashed and four men died. There was one survivor.[3] Prior to his death, Abner owned a successful wholesale oil products distribution company in Oak Ridge.