Horrible accidents caught on film, tragic diagnoses, and even the unsolved murder of
an unlikely victim. These are the stories of YouTubers whose lives were cut far too short.
Personal trainer Achilles Williams only had nine videos on his channel when he died,
but he seemed to be a star on the rise after his second video on the secrets
of lowering body fat percentage raked in more than a million views. He filmed
himself doing high intensity workouts and also recorded motivational vlogs,
but he sadly never got the chance to see just how big his channel could have become.
"You gotta say, 'F--- the competition' and focus on yourself."
The 30-year-old Atlanta resident was killed in March 2015 when a workout video went terribly
wrong. According to USA Today, Williams and a friend gained access to a railway track and
were filming a skipping-rope sequence as a freight train approached. The intention was
to have the train pass by behind the trainer, but they had tragically misjudged the width of
the carriages. The train collided with the YouTuber, killing him instantly.
Believe it or not, Williams was the second health and fitness YouTuber
to be killed by a train in as many months. Model-turned-actor and reality star Greg Plitt,
37, attracted millions of viewers to his channel, and he too decided to make
a video on train tracks. Plitt was struck by a Metrolink train and fatally injured.
Pedro Ruiz III wasn't a famous YouTuber in his lifetime, but he sadly became infamous in death
as a shocking example of just how far aspiring YouTube stars might go to boost their numbers. In
June 2017, he was accidentally killed in a stunt filmed for his partner Monalisa Perez's channel.
It went horribly wrong, leaving the 19-year-old mother of one — who was
seven months pregnant with their second child at the time — facing charges of
second-degree manslaughter. She later pleaded guilty, resulting in a 180-day jail sentence.
Perez's now-inactive La MonaLisa channel was a mixture of family vlogging and pranks,
with the last video she posted before the fatal accident revolving around "scary stunts' at the
funfair. Little did her subscribers know that she and Ruiz had a far more dangerous
stunt planned — she was going to fire a desert eagle pistol at her partner,
who was going to stop the bullet with a thick encyclopedia. The
bullet went straight through the book, killing Ruiz. Ruiz's aunt told KVLY,
"They were in love. It was just a prank gone wrong. It
shouldn't have happened like this. It shouldn't have happened at all."
According to a tweet Perez sent out prior to shooting, the whole stunt was Ruiz's idea.
Minecraft gamer Technoblade garnered a massive following on YouTube over
the course of his career. In August 2021, Technoblade took to the platform to reveal
his cancer diagnosis in a video titled "where I've been." He explained that he decided to
see a doctor after experiencing arm pain that wouldn't subside.
"They ran a couple of scans and then they came back,
and they told me that the reason my arm hurts is because I have cancer."
In June 2022, the gamer's father shared a tragic update with fans in a separate
YouTube video titled "so long nerds." It was revealed that Technoblade left a
final message for his father to read to his viewers after his death. The message began,
"Hello everyone, Technoblade here. If you're watching this, I am dead."
Revealing his face and his real first name for the first time,
Technoblade also thanked his viewers for their immense support,
and stated that he wouldn't have chosen to spend his life in any other way.
The otherwise anonymous YouTube star was only 23 years old at the time of his death. Although
Technoblade's family did not share many details on his diagnosis, it was reported that he raised
$500,000 to support the Sarcoma Foundation of America prior to his passing. That September,
Technoblade was posthumously honored with the organization's Courage Award.
Jonathan Grant Thompson, most widely known as "The King of Random," shared
fun science-inspired YouTube videos with his millions of followers. The
content creator died in Utah in July 2019 in a tragic paragliding accident.
After an investigation, local officials concluded that the paraglider's chute collapsed due to a
gust of wind. Thompson fell to the ground after his reserve chute also failed. The
YouTuber reportedly began paragliding four months prior to his accident.
Thompson's death was announced in a statement shared to Instagram, which read,
"It is with great sadness to inform everyone that Grant Thompson passed
away last night. Grant had great love and appreciation for his fans. We invite you
to share your thoughts for Grant and the channel in the comments. Please
do a random act of love or kindness today in honor of The King of Random."
The King of Random YouTube channel continued on after Thompson's death. His channel collaborator,
Nate Bonham, elaborated on the decision in a compilation video shared in the late
content creator's memory, titled "Thank you, Grant." Bonham assured
viewers that he had Thompson's wife's blessing to continue the channel,
and that Thompson likely would have wanted the same. He was 38.
Australian YouTuber Corey La Barrie died in a car accident in May 2020.
The content creator was celebrating his 25th birthday that night when his friend,
Ink Master star Daniel Joseph Silva reportedly ran into a stop sign and tree while speeding.
Silva was later arrested on suspicion of murder, according to CBS Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Police Department released a statement that alleged Silva tried to leave the
scene before being stopped by a passerby who witnessed the car crash. That July,
Silva pleaded no contest to a gross vehicular manslaughter felony charge and received a
364-day jail sentence in connection with the deadly crash. He was released in October 2020.
Corey La Barrie's family took to social media to speak out following his tragic
death. His brother, Jarrad La Barrie, penned a heartfelt message on Instagram,
alongside a drunk driving allegation against Silva, writing,
"This isn't something i thought i would ever have to sit here and
type out for a very long time or what i wanna do right now but everyone deserves to know,
my brother Corey passed away last night in a car accident with his drunk friend driving."
The late YouTube star's mother, Lissa Burton, also shared a statement to Instagram, penning in part,
"My heart breaks right now, on my sons 25 birthday today he got into
a car with a drunk driver. The accident killed him instantly."
Known for filming vlogs, prank videos, and challenges, Corey
La Barrie's YouTube channel racked up more than 300,000 subscribers.
YouTube animator Monty Oum's talents earned him a loyal fanbase that allowed him to launch the anime
series RWBY. He was also an animator for Rooster Teeth's Red Vs. Blue series. In February 2015,
Oum died due to a severe allergic reaction experienced during a medical procedure,
after which he fell into a coma. He was 33.
Rooster Teeth released a heartwarming statement on
their website following the animator's death, saying,
"As for honoring Monty, we will do that in our own way. In lieu of flowers or gifts,
we ask that you simply do something creative. Use
your imagination to make the world a better place in any way that you can."
"Very few people have the luxury
of doing exactly what they wanna do as their job. There's never a day where I forget that."
It wasn't easy for Oum's fellow RWBY creators to
keep the show going following his death. In a behind-the-scenes clip of the anime,
co-creator Miles Luna explained that production was a real challenge, saying,
"RWBY Volume 3 was the scariest thing ever. Monty was gone. And that changed everything."
Sharing how the show's creators managed to move forward, Luna said that the showrunners
were confident that its viewers were already invested in plot and characters, but that they
were concerned viewers may not want to watch the series without Oum's contribution. Producer
Gray G. Haddock assured viewers that he and his collaborators were trying hard to honor Oum's
original vision for the show moving forward. The ninth volume of RWBY premiered in February 2023.
British YouTuber and TV presenter Emily Hartridge built a following after her
videos on relationships and mental health gained attention. Most of Hartridge's most
popular videos incorporated the "10 reasons why" formula. For example, her 2013 video
titled "Dogs are better than men....10 Reasons Why" earned an impressive 23 million views.
Hartridge died in an e-scooter crash in July 2019. She was 35. In the coroner's report, publicly
shared in October 2020, Dr. Fiona Wilcox shared further details on the tragic accident, writing,
"Ms Hartridge was riding an electric scooter on
Queenstown Road when she lost control after passing over an inspector hatch
in the cycle lane and was thrown under the path of a [heavy goods vehicle]."
Wilcox elaborated that Hartridge was killed instantly by the semi-truck.
She also elaborated on the state of the scooter,
which she said was being driven at too high of a speed. Additionally, its tires reportedly did
not have enough air in them, which made it easier to lose control of the scooter.
Hartridge's boyfriend, Jake Hazell, revealed to The Sun that some unfortunately blamed him
for his girlfriend's death because he had gifted her with the e-bike for her
birthday a couple of months prior. Hazell elaborated to BBC that his
relationship with Hartridge has been helping him deal with these complex feelings, saying,
"What she has taught me has got me through. I feel close to her, I still do the Instagram,
still do the YouTube and continue her message that it is OK to have a tough time."
Charlie Green Jr. — YouTube's own "Angry Grandpa" — was known for his
hilarious videos that often featured his family members. With the YouTuber's channel boasting
more than 4 million subscribers, one of his most popular videos,
2014's "ANGRY GRANDPA DESTROYS PS4!" has 46 million views, as of this spring 2023.
Charlie's YouTube career sadly came to end when he died of liver disease
in December 2017. The social media star was 67 years old at the time and had reportedly
been living with health issues for years, including a prior diagnosis with skin cancer.
His son, Michael Green, took to his father's YouTube channel to announce
his death to his subscribers in a video entitled "RIP ANGRY GRANDPA." He began
the announcement by celebrating his father for beating skin cancer earlier that year,
before confirming another diagnosis that eventually proved fatal.
"In July, he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, which we thought was early stage."
Unfortunately, Charlie's diagnosis was not as mild as they thought,
and Michael even theorized that his father knew this and refrained from
telling his family. Michael went on to share that Charlie was released from the hospital
after he appeared to be getting better, but he later died at his South Carolina home.
Michael also celebrated the channel's viewers for the decade of support,
and expressed the pride his father had for the content they'd built on the platform.
In the early 2010s, FPSRussia was an extremely popular YouTube channel, which showcased a man
with a Russian accent demonstrating various firearms and explosives. Along with the host,
the channel was managed by producer Keith Ratliff, a fellow gun-enthusiast based in
the United States who spent most of his time behind the camera. Unfortunately,
Ratliff's passion was the very thing that led to his death in January 2013,
when he was fatally shot in his home office in Georgia. He was 32 years-old.
With his killer unknown at the time, Sheriff Stevie Thomas told The New
York Times investigators were still in the process of questioning people of interest,
and that no one had been ruled out as a suspect.
In turn, Ratliff's wife, Amanda, openly questioned her husband's death,
telling WSB-TV that, given his line of work, the circumstances that led
to his death didn't make sense to her. Keith's brother, Kelly, concurred, saying,
"For him not to pull out that gun and try to defend himself,
he had to feel comfortable around somebody. Either that or he was ambushed."
As of this writing, Keith Ratliff's murderer has still not been identified. In 2018,
his sister, Cory Brawner, spoke to Dateline about how difficult it was
to know that her brother's killer was still out there. She told the
outlet that she desperately wanted to know who took Ratliff's life and why, saying,
"Without any answers, it's been a living hell.
I look over my shoulder every single day to see if there is someone behind me."