Two prominent members of the Baltimore-area film community were killed in a crash in Delaware.
Delaware State Police identified the victims of a fatal Aug. 11 crash in Newark as Martin Whittier, 37, of Havre de Grace, and Lamar "Nate" Brubaker, 27, of Halethorpe.
The two men were driving south on I-95 in Delaware when their 2020 BMW M2 became disabled for unknown reasons in the middle lane, at about 10:22 p.m. Aug. 11. Delaware State Police noted it was a dark area of the highway, with no lights.
The BMW was rear-ended by a Freightliner box truck that caught fire, and pinned the two men inside their BMW. Both Martin Whittier and Nate Brubaker were pronounced dead at the scene. The 50-year-old driver of the box truck was able to escape without injuries.
The crash shut down I-95 to southbound traffic for about six hours.
Rock Shore Media posted on Facebook:
"Nate started Rock Shore Media in 2012, when he was still in high school, and nurtured it into a trailblazing voice within the Baltimore-Washington film industry. He pursued his dreams fearlessly, and touched the lives of the film community in innumerable ways.
Nate cared deeply about his community. He treated his employees and fellow filmmakers with sincere respect and admiration— always ensuring they felt welcome and appreciated. He was a mentor for many young filmmakers in the Baltimore community, providing countless professional growth opportunities for the next generation of the industry. Furthermore, he cared for Baltimore, and worked to uplift the locale in any way that he could. He was truly a selfless person who never passed up an opportunity to extend his genuine support and guidance to others."
A GoFundMe page organized for Nate has raised more than $32,000 as of Tuesday morning.
One friend wrote on Facebook:
"The world lost 2 incredible individuals, both of whom have likely impacted hundreds if not thousands of people through the course of their careers... This is such a huge, incalculable loss to the TV/Film industry and I'm not sure anything or anyone will ever fill their void."
