BALTIMORE (AP) - Two Maryland filmmakers known for helping expand commercial advertising and the film and television industry in the Baltimore-Washington area have died in a car accident in Delaware, according to authorities and an associate.
Martin Whittier, 37, and Nate Brubaker, 27, died Thursday night after a box truck collided with their car, which Delaware State Police said for an unknown reason had become disabled in a lane on a stretch of Interstate 95 near Newark. The truck struck the car from behind - pushing it toward the shoulder - and then caught fire, pinning the men inside their vehicle, according to police. The truck driver wasn't injured.
Andrew Geraci, a filmmaker and friend of the men, said that Whittier and Brubaker were returning Thursday to Maryland from a production in Philadelphia.
Brubaker, of Halethorpe, was considered a pioneer in virtual production filming, and created the first large-scale LED wall in the Baltimore and Washington region, Geraci said. Whittier, of Havre de Grace, started and owned camera equipment companies in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Alexandria, Virginia, before selling his company recently.
The Delaware State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit is continuing to investigate the crash. Anyone who witnessed this collision is asked to contact Cpl/2 Calio at 302-365-8483. Information may also be provided by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or via the internet at www.delawarecrimestoppers.com.
