Famed mathematician John Nash, who inspired the Russell Crowe film A Beautiful Mind, was killed in a car accident Saturday while traveling with his wife, Alicia. The couple was 86 and 82, respectively.
According to New York Daily News, the couple were riding in a taxi cab while on the New Jersey turnpike when the vehicle was involved in an accident. A vehicle was attempting to pass another car when they lost control, reported Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Williams.
He then told New York Daily News the driver of the vehicle that was hit ended up striking the cab carrying Nash and his wife. They were both ejected from the taxi cab and died instantly.
The driver of the taxi was taken to the hospital.
Crowe took to Twitter to send his condolences on the loss of both John and Alicia Nash.
BBC News reported Nash won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1994 and one of his most famous works was in the area of game theory.
A Beautiful Mind focused on his work, as well as his struggle with mental illness and how his wife Alicia helped to aid in his care. They would later devote their lives to advocating mental health issues.
Just earlier in the week, Nash was the recipient of the Abel Prize. The couple married in 1957 and while they divorced in 1963, they reconciled in 2001.
The investigation into their death is ongoing, but it is possible they were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.