KEY POINTS

  • The car crash happened at an intersection in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
  • There was no traffic signal at the intersection
  • The deaths of Chris, 25, and Patrick, 22, were ruled as accidents

James and Patrick Phyrillas - the creators behind the popular Schaffrillas Productions Youtube account – were involved in a car crash in Upper Macungie Township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. James' brother Patrick and their friend Chris Schaffer didn't survive the crash.

The trio's car was hit by a tractor-trailer while they were trying to cross the intersection of Route 222 and Folk Road on Sunday, police were quoted as saying by WFMZ. The crash is being investigated by Upper Macungie Police with assistance from the Lehigh County Crash Reconstruction Task Force and Lehigh County District Attorney's office.

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There was no traffic signal at the intersection, and the deaths were ruled as accidents, the coroner said, Dexerto reported.

On Monday evening, the Twitter and YouTube community banded together to #PrayForSchaffrillas, including supporters of their content and those that found it unimpressive.

"I really wish the best for James, his content is absolutely amazing and genuinely helped me so much in my life emotionally, seeing him have to go through a horrific and tragic moment like this is really underserved and heartbreaking #PrayForSchaffrillas," read a tweet.

For the unversed, the Schaffrillas Productions YouTube account that was created in 2015 has 1.66 million subscribers and has clocked over 320 million views, averaging a million views per video.

The channel posts "live-action re-enactments of SpongeBob episodes, (anime music videos) AMVs of musical theatre songs, and just about anything related to Tamatoa or Aardvark Matt Damon."

How is James Phyrillas' condition now?

A Twitter account that claimed to be speaking on behalf of the Schaffrillas editing team broke the news of the crash Monday.

"I have some very sad, unfortunate news to deliver. Yesterday, James Phyrillas aka Schaffrillas, his friend Chris Schaffer, and his brother Patrick Phyrillas, were all involved in a car crash in Leigh County. Chris, 25, and Patrick, 22, have died, and James is in critical condition," the tweet read.

In a follow-up tweet, the account posted that James' current condition is unknown and asked for prayers for the latter and the deceased. Another tweet from the account said all other videos which were scheduled for release were immediately put on hold until James' condition is known.

"Chris was the love of my life. My heart is shattered. I've spoken to his family. They are all grieving. Please keep them in your thoughts. I will post his obituary which is being created," read another tweet.

The details about Chris and Patrick's funeral service are yet to be announced.

Representational image (Car crash)
Representational image (Source: Pixabay / ID 652234)
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