One of the storm chasers who was killed in a car accident in West Texas on Tuesday grew up in Colorado.
Corbin Jaeger, 25, was killed when two other storm chasers ran a stop sign and hit his vehicle head-on near Spur, a small town east of Lubbock.
The cause of the crash had nothing to do with weather but both vehicles were heading towards the same storm, investigators in Texas said.
Kelley Williams, 57, and Randy Yarnall, 55, were in a black suburban when it ran a stop sign at an intersection and collided with the black jeep Jaeger was in. Williams and Yarnall were both contractors with the Weather Channel, according to police.
All three were pronounced dead at the scene.
Jaeger was raised in Colorado where he became fascinated by weather, according to his biography on MADwx.com. He was living in Arizona after graduating from Douglas County High School.
Tuesday afternoon, Jaeger tweeted that he was heading to the storm near Spur. He was killed a couple of hours later.
In Paducah #Texas doing a reassessment of todays chase plans, I’ll keep you all updated. - @CorbinJaeger #MadWx #txwx pic.twitter.com/2Islklruh9
— MadWX Chasing (@mad_WX) March 28, 2017
The loss is devastating to the storm chasing community. Condolences have been pouring in for the victims online and funds have been set up to support them.
Billy Wade has been chasing storms for years. He knew all three victims and says Williams and Yarnall were like mentors.
"It just tears me up when we lose not just friends but brothers and people who were just close to the heart," Wade said.
Wade spoke to 9NEWS as he was headed to chase another storm less than one day after Williams and Yarnall died.
"They would have wanted us to keep chasing and to keep practicing what we're doing," Wade said.
Storm chasing is becoming increasing popular and chasers are running into more people with less experience, Wade says.
Regardless of what happened in this crash, chasers say it's a reminder to be cautious because even the "pros" can be in a lot of danger.
Both Williams and Yarnall were highly respected in the storm chasing community.
Friends say, Jaeger earned a certification as a weather spotter for the National Weather Service.
