The lead designer for Company of Heroes Online, a popular MMO real time strategy game, has died due to a car accident while driving with his wife and unborn child.
Brian R. Wood was driving his Subaru Outback with his wife, Erin, pregnant with their first child. A speeding Chevy Blazer driven by 21-year old Jordan B. Weichert struck their car, killing Brian instantly.
Though Brian was killed in the crash, his wife and their unborn child survived, thanks to Brian’s last minute maneuver to put himself in front of the speeding truck, rather than take on a head-on collision. His actions deliberately put him in front of the force of the collision, ultimately killing him, but saving the life of his wife and their child.
According to his wife, Erin Wood, she and the baby would not have survived had Brian not swerved the car. “All the policeman say that if we had hit the car head-on all of us would be dead. At the very last second (Brian) braked really hard and turned right so that he would be put in the path of the SUV and not me and the baby, and that is the only thing that saved us both.”
Washington State police are currently investigating the cause of the accident. Evidence of drug use by the driver and passengers was discovered at the scene, and police knew several of the occupants of the Blazer. Unfortunately, two other passengers within the Blazer were killed in the accident, 25-year-old Jacob Quistorf and 26-year-old Francis Malloy.
The driver of the Blazer, 21-year-old Jordan Weichert, was allegedly attempting to remove her sweater while driving. She asked her passenger, 22-year-old Samantha Bowling, to take the wheel. Both survived the accident. Weichert is currently being charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and one count of vehicular assault. Bowling is being investigated for the same charges.
Co-workers, family and friends will remember Brian, a dedicated member of Relic Entertainment team.
"He was always sacrificing himself for me and the baby," said Erin Wood.
"He was the most amazing warm-hearted man you would ever meet who loved his job, loved his family, and was just my rock. I am not quite sure how I am supposed to live the rest of my life without him. He truly was a gift and I wouldn't change a thing of any of our moments together. (The baby is) due Nov. 5 so it will come quick and then I look forward to seeing little glimpses of Brian in our baby and that gives me a lot of strength right now."
Brian’s father, Ed Wood, feels no anger towards the occupants of the Blazer. He only hopes that the two are put away, as to avoid another terrible accident.
"I don't feel a sense of anger. I feel a sense of profound loss. I don't feel a need for vengeance or anything of that sort. But I do believe these people need to be put away. They are going to kill somebody else and themselves and they need to be put away just for the good of society."
[Thanks The Province]
1 Comments
September 9, 2010
Wow - what sad news and what a heroic action. The small blessing of being an artist/creator is that some part of Brian will live on in the work he created.