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Martin Whittier, 37, and Nate Brubaker, 27, were heading south in a 2020 BMW M2 when the car became disabled in the middle lane of the highway around 10:20 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11 in Newark, DE, according to Delaware State Police and the pair's associates.
A white 2017 Freightliner box truck also traveling southbound struck the BMW from behind, and pushed it in southern direction, towards the right shoulder where the vehicles came to rest. The front of the box truck then caught fire.
The 50-year-old operator of the box truck was able to escape from the before the front of the vehicle caught fire. The operator was not injured in the crash.
Whittier, of Havre de Grace, who was driving, and Brubaker, of Halethorpe, were pinned inside the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. The fire did not spread to the passenger compartment of the BMW.
A longtime colleague, Drew Geraci, launched GoFundMes for the families of Whittier and Brubaker.
A Perryville native, Whittier owns CharmCine rentals, a film production company in Baltimore, as well as Liberty Camera rentals, a Philadelphia-based camera rental company. Brubaker is the founding owner of Rock Shore, a a Baltimore-based video production company.
"To anyone who knew him, knew he was the most selfless, kind, passionate, and wonderful human being," the GoFundMe for Brubaker reads. "Nate built his own business Rock Shore Media from the ground up with his heart and soul. He built a brand new studio this year. He was to marry the love of his life, Shannon..."
"Martin Whittier (and Nate Brubaker) left us, leaving a void that will be hard for many in the TV/Film industry to fill. I met Martin almost 10 years ago, and from the first time we met, I knew I liked working with him. I saw him (and his wife, Daniela) grow together over the years after he decided to start his own cinema-rental company in Baltimore, which has since spurred even more growth in the local industry," Whittier's campaign reads.
"Martin leaves behind a beautiful and loving family. His two sons, Ben and Emmett, with whom he built an incredible indoor rock wall in their basement to play on and his wife, Daniela, who helped buildup and support Martin's dreams through her own leadership at Charmcine. Martin missed his 12-year wedding anniversary by 2 days, which would have been celebrated on August 14th."
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