Vince Zampella, a video game developer who co-created or helmed some of the world’s most popular franchises, died in a car crash on a Los Angeles highway at 12:45 a.m. Pacific time on Sunday, December 21. He was 55 years old.
According to the California Highway Patrol, Zampella was in a car on Angeles Crest Highway when the vehicle left the roadway and struck a concrete barrier. No other vehicles were reported to be part of the accident.
A passenger was thrown out of the vehicle after it caught fire, while the driver was trapped inside. The driver died at the scene and the passenger died after being taken to hospital. The report did not indicate whether Zampella was a passenger or driver.
Angeles Crest Highway is a scenic road down the San Gabriel Mountains on the east end of LA and is commonly used for Sunday leisure drives. The vehicle involved in the accident was a 2026 Ferrari 296 GTS.
A historic career in game development
Early in his career, Zampella worked at Segasoft and Panasonic, and was the lead designer of the World War II action shooter. Medal of Honor: Allied InvasionWhich was released in 2002. But it was the famous studio Infinity Ward that made him a household name for gamers. He co-founded Infinity Ward with Jason West and Grant Collier in 2002.
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