2 Maryland filmmakers die in crash on I-95 in Newark, Delaware returning home from Philadelphia production

Martin Whittier (37) and Nate Brubaker (27) died after a van collided with their car.

PHILADELPHIA– Two Maryland filmmakers known for expanding commercial advertising and the film and television industry in the Baltimore-Washington area have died in a car accident in Delaware, according to authorities and an employee.

Martin Whittier, 37, and Nate Brubaker, 27, died Thursday night after a panel truck collided with their car, which Delaware State Police said was jammed in a lane on a section of Interstate 95 near Newark, The reported Baltimore Sun.

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The truck hit the car from behind – pushing it towards the shoulder – and then caught fire, pinning the men in their vehicle, according to police. The truck driver was not injured.

Andrew Geraci, a filmmaker and friend of the men, said Whittier and Brubaker would return to Maryland Thursday from a production in Philadelphia.

Halethorpe-based Brubaker pioneered virtual production filming and created the first large-scale LED wall in the Baltimore-Washington area, Geraci said.

Whittier, of Havre de Grace, founded or owned camera equipment companies in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Alexandria, Virginia before recently selling his company, the newspaper reported.