Video game developer Vince Zampella, known for co-creating the popular game “Call of Duty,” was killed in a crash while driving a Ferrari on Angeles Crest Highway on Sunday, Dec. 21.
The single-car crash happened around 12:45 p.m., at mile marker 62.70 on the highway, according to the California Highway Patrol Altadena Division. The crash location is in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Azusa and west of Highway 39. Angeles Crest Highway is also known as State Route 2.
A car was traveling southbound when for “unknown reasons,” it veered off the roadway, struck a concrete barrier and was engulfed in flames, according to the CHP.
A video from a witness shared on social media, and broadcast in part on TV stations, showed the red Ferrari exiting a tunnel, hitting the barrier on the right shoulder and catching fire with bystanders soon after dragging a victim away from the wreckage.
The driver was trapped in the car and a passenger was thrown from the car, the CHP said. Both the driver and passenger died, authorities said.
The driver was Zampella, NBC LA reported. Information on the passenger’s identity was not immediately available.
Electronic Arts (EA), the Redwood City-based company that owns Zampella’s studio Respawn Entertainment, confirmed his death on Sunday, but did not disclose a cause of death. He was 55.
The car was a 2026 Ferrari 296 GTS, according to NBC LA.
Zampella was the head of Respawn Entertainment at the time of his death and was formerly the chief executive officer of video game developer Infinity Ward. He was one of the creators of the bestselling first-person shooter game “Call of Duty.”
A spokesperson for Electronic Arts described Zampella as a “visionary creator” in the video game industry and said “his work helped shape modern interactive entertainment and inspired millions of players and developers around the world.”
