Ben-DutkaCompany of Heroes is only for PC but that doesn't matter. What matters is that the gaming industry has tragically lost one of its own.
Brian Wood, lead designer for Relic Entertainment and partly responsible for the aforementioned critically acclaimed franchise, was tragically killed over the Labor Day weekend when his Subaru wagon collided with an oncoming Chevy Blazer. But it appears Wood's final act in life was one of supreme self-sacrifice and heroism . As his wife said, "in his final act he did the only that would save us:" with the Blazer bearing down on them, the 33-year-old Wood braked hard and swerved to the right, so as to accept the full force of the collision, thereby saving his wife of five years and their unborn child. Brian was killed instantly but his wife, Erin, only suffered a non-lethal head injury.
"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.
I am not going to waste the gift he gave us."
The Blazer crossed the center line when the driver tried to take her sweater off while driving, and asked the passenger to take the wheel. Washington State Patrol found evidence of drug use at the scene in the SUV, and "all of the occupants are well known to police." "There is quite a drug history there," said Sgt. Jason Longoria. The two male passengers in the rear of the vehicle were killed in the accident; the driver, Jordyn Weichert, 21, is in custody and facing charges of three counts of vehicular homicide and one count of vehicular assault. Unsurprisingly, none of the occupants were wearing seat belts.
Erin Wood said her husband's last act of bravery doesn't surprise her, as "he was always sacrificing himself for me and the baby." Finished Erin:
"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."
Brian's father, Ed, said the entire family is dealing with the grief as best they can, and is not seeking revenge against the driver of the SUV. However, he did say he believes they "need to be put away" and that they're "going to kill somebody else and themselves." Erin added that "there is no place for anger in my heart right now – it is all sadness."
It's clear that Brian Wood will be missed. It's also clear that drugs – both illegal and legal – will continue to be the bane of our society until we implode. This never should've happened. Forgive this brief opinion aspect of the story but hey, someone needs to say it. R.I.P., Brain. And all the best to Erin and the baby.
Shame, to have your life stolen from you by some drugged out loser.
it always happens that way. it's a crying shame this happened.
god and im just starting to drive
be careful, there are a lot of crazies on the road. just don't follow their footsteps.
R.I.P Brian Wood. Not only did we lose a great game developer we lost an even greater man. The world is a darker place now that his life was unnecessarily stolen from him. I can only hope to be so brave if that kind of situation comes up in my life. My heart goes out to Erin,the unborn baby,and the rest of his family. Good luck and God bless.
I'm sorry if i offended. You're completely right. My deepest apologies. This not the place and i got out of hand. I would like to say that i don't promote drug use and for the most part other than medical reasons, i don't do drugs. I do also think that drugs are a huge problem in our society and it's destroying our youth. I was looking at it from my history and all the therapy i went through. Again, i'm really sorry if i offended anyone and my deepest condolences go out to family that's suffering through this horrible tragedy.
That's fine. I can't really imagine being in your condition but if I was, I'm sure I'd be quick to defend that which allowed me to live. No worries. 🙂
this man is a goddamn hero. men always say they are more of a man by their toughness in a fight, or how many women they have…
but THAT is what a man is. he willinglygave up his own life so his wife and child could live…
im not a religious guy… but i hope that erin will raise a great man or a fine woman so someday, brian can look down and see what he saved.
RIP brian.
I wish I could give this comment 100 thumbs up.
Like Troy, I'm surprised that most of the comments here focussed on attacking drug use rather than praising Wood.
R.I.P. !
"Hero" is just a word or ideal, an amorphous concept that none of us can fully quantify. Or so it is, until a human being does something like this.
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 9/7/2010 6:16:03 PM
Vehicular manslaughter has a twenty year sentence. With three counts, I hope the sentence runs consecutive when they face a judge.
There's no excuse for being behind the wheel while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
I see people doing stupid sh*t all the time while driving, like reading a book, or eating food off of a dinner plate with a fork like they're sitting at a table in their home.
tes37,
Unfortunately, there's way too many of these careless irresponsible a$$wipes out on the roadway, whether they're high, drunk, or completely sober.
Ever frigging day, I see someone either driving with a big mac in one hand & trying to juggle their coffee in the other, or holding on a hand held cell phone & trying to dial with the other(against the law in New Jersey), or some young goofy twit texting while driving.
I'm really tired of these fools who have caused either the death, or the maiming to some of my fellow bikers.
And to top it off, they either get just a tiny slap-on-the wrist fine, or they wind up getting off scott free.
But for me, I consider it an act of attempted homicide when someone doesn't pay attention & either cut's me off, or turns left right into me at an intersection. And I'm really NOT a nice guy when that happens & I've been known dole out my own justice at their next stop sign or red light.
Saying "I didn't see him isn't an excuse, it's admitting your guilt"
Here's a funny story though……
One day while I was on my Harley, I watched this ditzy 20something girl doing her mascara in the rear view mirror while driving 40 MPH down the street.
Soooo, being the Saint that I am(got my nickname from sarcasm), I just waited till she got past all the parked cars & then I gave her a nice long blast of my twin tractor-trailer horns(140+ decibels).
Well, She almost jumped out of her skin & swiftly pulled over to the side of the road & glared at me as I passed her by.
But little did she realized that I would always have the last laugh, because when she finally looked in her rear view mirror again, she would see that her mascara left a big ole trail from the bottom edge of her right eyeball, all the way down to the bottom edge of her chin.
She learned a priceless lesson that day, and that lesson was….
"Don't buy water-proof mascara".
Last edited by BikerSaint on 9/7/2010 10:13:01 PM
R.I.P
Why is it the people that benefit society are to ones that die such tragic deaths?
just like the saying goes. "no good deed goes unpunished". which basically means bad things happen to good people.
Last edited by ace_boon_coon on 9/7/2010 7:01:57 PM
It's really sad, but they'd be lucky if that person that was driving got an assault charge. I was in an accident where we hit a tree going 70 in a residential area. Thats just careless… My very close friend in the front passenger seat died and we all got really serious injuries. All 5 of us. Well the driver who was so careless to begin with. Only recieved an assault charge. No manslaughter charge at all. I couldn't believe it. Let's hope this doesn't happen to this poor family.
This was a totally unnecessary death. I'm not a recreational drug user but I acknowledge that there will always be users. What really upsets me is that they're still dumb enough to think they can drive while drunk or high. I wouldn't even drive if I felt tired let alone had one drink.
I'm in awe of his actions, knowing that he put his family before himself while under an intense situation. This man was an example.
I hope by your selfless example that I too, if put in a similar situation am able to muster the courage to sacrifice myself for the well-being of my loved ones. RIP Brian Wood.
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage".
— Lao Tse
I drink the whiskey, but I do so at home.
Let's just put it like this. There's responsible handling of "delicate" influences, and there is also the rash mishandling of delicate influences. Unfortunately, the rash mishandling ended with the worst possible outcome. Some people really make me sick…
This man is a hero. RIP.
Man I was just reading this in the newspaper this morining. It happened in Victoria (not too far from where I live). I felt so sad about that. That man deserves a medal of some sort for his bravery and sacrifice.
Also it is a sad loss for the gaming community. As other people have said stupid people are the bane of society.
Last edited by SixSpeedKing on 9/7/2010 9:07:53 PM
Brian Wood should be remembered for his heroic act and be written down in history, I think. His unborn child is very lucky to have had such a loving father as him. I'm sure there will be a place for him in his afterlife, he completely deserves it 100%. I hope that his child is born with a courageous heart like their father.
Rest in Peace Brian Wood.
I'll share this with my Facebook so that many people will hear of his heroic sacrifice, he deserves to be known as the great man he is.
Everytime I come to this site theirs an ad on the left of my screen. I can't read the article or see what the article is, it's getting annoying.
Cholo Gamer,
FYI…Most of us had that same problems with ad's in the way of the threads & posts.
But some of us went with "Mozilla" & then put in the add-on called "Ad-Block" to stop it.
Now, everything's right where it should be, cause Ad-Block eliminates any ads that interfere with the site
(I still can see the blue PS3 ad on the right, but only because it's not one of those interference ads).
R.I.P. Brian Wood
While this incident is tragic(and my condolence to the family), this along with many other DUI-related incidents should serve as another example as why DUI laws are a failure[no matter how strong they are made] and why we need to repeal them.
Now you might ask why repeal all DUI laws, but to put it straight you can't legistlate behavior just as you can't legistlate racism out of existence. To further add,the presence of DUI and anti-drug laws is just another ridiculous burden on taxpayers.
As for drug users, while I personally abhore and condemn the usage of drugs, in defense of all drug users nobody[you, me, or any civil authority]really have no right in telling an individual what they can/cannot put into their bodies. If someone what to use drugs well its their business, but ultimately they would have face the deadly consequences of their lifestyle.
What?
WHAT?
"but ultimately they would have face the deadly consequences of their lifestyle."
And why should an innocent bystander face the deadly consequences of someone else's lifestyle?
Your logic is flawed. You just got owned by Orvisman.
Tell you what… I have a proposition for your fancy no legislation of behaviors…
If someone you know gets high, drives a car, and kills someone I love, while you defend their right to put anything into their bodies, I'm going to defend my right to behave however I want and punish them myself.
Legislate that, bish!
My condolences go out to Erin Wood, her unborn child and anyone else that has been affected by this senseless tragedy, on both sides of the line. It is unfortunate that when it comes to car accidents it is oft extraordinarily difficult to avert the situation once the chain of events has been set into motion.
I, myself, was the cause of a rather minor 'accident' when I ran a red light as the result of tiredness. Thankfully no-one was injured, but to this day I feel guilty about doing so. I keep thinking that if I'd have realised two seconds earlier, it could have been avoided. Regrets…
As for the drugs: They aren't the bane of society. Humanity is. I'm not defending drugs. I think of anyone who uses or abuses them as being weak-willed, and that is the problem. Humans are so willing to lose themselves into these vices. It's a shame and in this case has (possibly) caused the loss of three lives. It truly makes me glad to say the the only drug I take willingly is the caffeine from a can of Pepsi once a day, five times a week.
I know that I shouldn't have written those last couple of paragraphs, but that's just the way it goes. Requiescat in Pace, Mr Wood.
Peace.
'I care not if I live but a day and a night, so long as my deeds live after me.' – I know not who spoke these words, but Brian's deeds will indeed live after him.
At lest he still lives on through his unborn child God Bless this guy who save his wife and child, this is so dam sad 🙁
how sad, i cant imagine how you would be able to move on knowing your husbands dead to save you.
wonder if the SUV driver got charged for anything.
its so sad, so frustrating, and so unfair to see someones stupidity and laziness cause someone else so much heartache.
the stupidity of people on the road these days baffles me!
i use to love driving, it use to be a massive passion of mine, i use to go pick up a few mates and just go for a drive for the hell of it.
not anymore, i cant go for a drive without almost having at least 10 accidents a day!
the other day i was driving to TAFE along the M4 doing 120KMPH and this stupid women was doing her lipstick with her left hand, mascara with the other on the phone and steering with her knees!
she was swerving from lane to lane, i was next to her and she nearly side swiped me so i beeped at her, so she has the audacity to wind down the window and swear at me!
god i wish cops would get off there fat lazy asses, stop sitting in the car setting up radar traps and start patrolling the road!
if i was a cop i would be so freaking busy id probably be home 5 hours late every day because honestly every 5 minutes on the road i see someone doing something stupid and breaking the road rules.
if i was a cop on commission i honestly would be the worlds richest man!
This is terrible. I was thinking about the split second decision he had to make to save his wife and the baby. I think being a gamer/dev improved his reaction time, it could be the only reason his wife and son are still alive today.
It's a horrible accident that could have been prevented. I hope his family makes it through this ok.
I love how the people that defend recreational drug use are people who almost never comment here.
lol they are also the ones with the most holes in their logic.
This act of heroism brings tears to my eyes.
Rest in Peace, Brian.
RIP Brian Woods, my thoughts and prayers go out to Erin and their unborn child and the rest of the family. What a tragic loss.
This story gave me goose-bumps. As terrible as this news is, the way the family seems to be remembering Brian is almost as amazing as his last act of bravery.
Last edited by Nynja on 9/9/2010 11:31:12 AM
— Edited by Admin
Note: Pretty sure we told you to get out.
Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 9/9/2010 4:04:38 PM
I normally don't cut & paste full articles to this site, but I think this one's just cuts most of us deeply, and it's too important not to do it. And if you're able to, then please donate to the "Brian Wood Memorial Trust fund" to help Brian's wife & unborn son during their time of devastation. I know I'm going to help them….
Memorial Fund Started For Family of Dev Killed in Car Crash
http://kotaku.com/5633985/memorial-fund-started-for-family-of-dev-killed-in-car-crashmemorial-fund-started-for-family-of-dev-killed-in-car-crash
Memorial Fund Started For Family of Dev Killed in Car Crash Friends of Brian Wood, the Company of Heroes developer who lost his life in a tragic car accident on Friday, have established a trust fund to aid his wife and their unborn child during this trying time. Every dollar counts!
As reported earlier this week, Company of Heroes Online lead designer Brian Wood of Relic Entertainment lost his life on Friday night, when his Subaru Outback was struck head-on by an out-of-control Chevy Blazer. The 33-year-old developer was killed in the crash. According to his wife, his last act was swerving his vehicle to take the full brunt of the impact himself, saving her life and that of the couple's unborn child.
Radical Entertainment's Szymon Mazus, a close friend of the family, now points us towards a trust fund established to aid Erin and her child as they deal with this tragic situation.
"Brian was a very close friend. He was just the kindest most down to earth person you could ever hope to meet, as is Erin. We have set up a trust fund to help Erin and the baby during this very difficult time and I was hoping you would be willing to post a blurb about this and a link to http://www.brianwoodmemorialtrust.com on your site. We, family and friends, would be incredibly grateful."
I can only imagine how deeply this tragedy affects Erin and her child. With so much to worry about now that Brian Wood has passed on, not having to worry about financial matters would certainly be a large weight off of her shoulders, while helping ensure that the pair have the sort of life that Brian would have wanted for them.
Every single dollar does count. Imagine the relief we could give Erin and her child if everyone who read this donated just one dollar to the fund. I've donated, and I only have $35 in the bank right now. If I can do it, so can you.
Click the link below to find out how you can contribute.
The Brian Wood Memorial Trust[Official Page]
http://www.brianwoodmemorialtrust.com/