Vince Zampella, a video game developer who has co-created or helmed some of the most popular franchises in the world, died in a car crash on a Los Angeles highway at 12:45 pm 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 veered off the road and crashed into a concrete barrier. No other vehicles were reported to be part of the crash.
A passenger was ejected from the vehicle, while the driver was trapped inside after the vehicle caught fire. The driver died at the scene, and the passenger died after being taken to the hospital. The report did not indicate whether Zampella was the passenger or the driver.
Angeles Crest Highway is a scenic road under the San Gabriel Mountains on the eastern end of LA and is commonly used for Sunday leisure drives. The vehicle involved in the crash was a 2026 Ferrari 296 GTS.
A storied career in game development
Early in his career, Zampella worked at SegaSoft and Panasonic, and he was the lead designer for the influential World War II shooter Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, which was released in 2002. But it was the famed studio Infinity Ward that turned him into a household name for gamers. He co-founded Infinity Ward with Jason West and Grant Collier in 2002.