Popular YouTuber and adventure guide Andrew Cross was taken off life support and died Tuesday, a month after an auto accident left him with a traumatic brain injury.
He was 36.
“Andrew’s spirit is free, surrounded by light & love,” his sister, Jenna, wrote on a CaringBridge website set up to provide updates to friends and family. “He went to be with the Lord today, March 4 at 10:50 AM MST. It was peaceful and full of love in the room with Evelyn by his side, his parents and close friends nearby.”
The Colorado social media star, known as Desert Drifter online, had been rear-ended on Jan. 31, when Ragnar Nickolas Kristl, 37, plowed into his car in a white van as Cross waited at a stoplight. Both men sustained serious injuries, and Cross remained in a coma.
Kristl was treated at a hospital and released, then arrested on Feb. 21 on charges of vehicular assault, reckless and careless driving, and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the Grand Junction Police Department said. On Wednesday, police added vehicular homicide to the list after stating that Cross had “succumbed to injuries sustained in the crash and was pronounced deceased by hospital staff.”
Cross, based in Grand Junction, Colorado, had 474,000 subscribers on YouTube channel, which focused on “exploration and adventure with a historical twist.”
Kristl is due back in court to face the new charges on March 12, according to KREX-TV.
Cross’s sister recounted his final moments.
“Before removing Andrew from life support yesterday, they put him on a mobile ventilator and walked a loop around the whole ICU while all the available staff lined the hallway as a way to honor him,” Jenna wrote. “Then in the room, friends and family read scripture, prayed, and sang during the process of removing life support and for over an hour afterwards. It was peaceful and beautiful.”