Trevor “McSkillet” Heitmann, 18, was a popular YouTuber and online game player. Thursday, he drove his McLaren 650S sports car on I 805 in San Diego the wrong way going 100 MPH, and collided with an SUV. Heitmann was killed as were two others traveling in the car he slammed into. Some have speculated he was on a suicide mission. But the teen Tuber with almost 900,000 subscribers took the lives of a mother and her daughter. Another person was injured but is expected to survive.
According to California Highway Patrol, the crash occurred at 4:30 p.m. near the Sorrento Valley in San Diego. Heitmann’s car collided head-on with an SUV. Police said several cars were involved near the crash with a number of cars on fire as a result of the deadly crash. It was reported a witness said Heitman’s car was traveling at high speed the wrong way on the high occupancy vehicle (carpool) lane, the LA Times reported. According to police documents on the crash, a witnesses said the freeway “…is on fire.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Crash Claimed the Lives of a Mother & Her Teenage Daughter About to Start Seventh Grade Monday. Many Were Angered & Outraged About the Horrible & Unnecessary Deaths as a Result of Heitmann’s Actions
California Highway Patrol said the crash was reported around 4:45 p.m. PT, and eyewitnesses told police it was caused by a car speeding down the highway in the opposite lane. The car was driving at more than 100 mph at the time of the crash, according to the Times.
The San Diego Times Union reported Heitmann slammed his luxury sports car “head-on into a Hyundai SUV and both vehicles burst into flames. Those who died in the SUV were tentatively identified by the county Medical Examiner’s Office as a 43-year-old San Diego woman and her 12-year-old daughter.”
The paper reported family identified Aileen Pizarro and her daughter Aryana Pizarro; Aileen Pizarro was a marriage and family counselor and her daughter Aryana was about to enter 7th grade.
People posted on this tweet from February about his death and that while he may have been depressed as some allege, others could not forgive the fact that he may have committed suicide and in doing so, also committed murder.
@OG_McSkillet If this is true, you involved other people in your death, fuck you.
2. The Pizarro Family is Trying to Cope & Understand What Has Happened. A GoFundMe May Help Cover Funeral Costs
Dominic Pizarro set up a GoFundMe to help pay for funeral expenses for his mother and sister. In a heart-wrenching post, he says, “Yesterday, both my mother and sister were taken from our family in an instantaneous car accident in San Diego! During this time, me, my grandfather, and brother are trying to come to grasp with our new reality and push forward with our lives,” he wrote.
“This GoFundMe is to help aid my family with funeral costs and any additional expenses related to Aileen and Aryana’s deaths! Thank you for all your support!! ❤️❤️”
Within 12 hours, the campaign had exceeded its humble goal of $5000 by seven times over.
“To all who have given, will give, or have shared this to others who have given: Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ We will continue to update everyone on the memorial for our mom and sister and how we plan to memorialize them!! They will live on forever!!!,” Dominic Pizarro wrote in an update.
3. Heitmann, AKA ‘McSkillet,’ Was a Popular YouTuber With Nearly 900,000 Subscribers. He Shared a Video of the $250K Sports Car on YouTube & Twitter
Eight months ago, apparently rolling in the dough, Heitmann posted a brag video to prove his clout featuring the 2015 British McLaren 650S. Bought in the early fall of 2017, Heitmann says it has “641 horsepower beats every other super-car in a drag race …this car is pretty damn insane once the turbos kick in you have so much power it’s ridiculous.” He answers how he was able to afford the car; skin.trade and gambling and gaming sponsorships, as he says here:
It’s been estimated that the one-of-a-kind sports car cost around $250,000 or possibly more.
According to Social Blade, Heitman joined YouTube in February of 2014, so on the platform for exactly four years, had amassed some 875,000 subscribers, and produced 470 video uploads. His view count is in the neighborhood of more than 200 million.
Some thought his death was a hoax.
Had multiple people tell me now that the fatal car crash in San Diego involved the CS:GO YouTuber McSkillet. I’m still hoping it’s a fucked up hoax. We talked quite a bit about skins drama and stuff down the years. He’s only 18 years old.
“This isn’t a hoax. He was my best friend in real life and I’ve been dealing with this pain for the past two hours. Everyone please spread love and support, he was battling an incredible rough time and we need to show support.”
This was in response to an early tweet well before it was confirmed by authorities that Heitmann was involved in the crash and was dead.
“Had multiple people tell me now that the fatal car crash in San Diego involved the CS:GO YouTuber McSkillet. I’m still hoping it’s a fucked up hoax. We talked quite a bit about skins drama and stuff down the years. He’s only 18 years old.
4. Heitmann Made Big Money Through Skin Trading & Did a Lot of Giveaways. He Explains it In-Depth During a Video
YouTube screenshotMcSkillet CSGO Magic YouTube screenshot
Heitmann explains precisely how he made his money and how he got started in this video.
was known for his CS:GO trading site, CSGO Magic, and for his proclivity for CS:GO skin trading and was dubbed the “king of skins” by some other CS:GO YouTube creators, according to Polygon.
“Many of his videos focused on skin trading. In June, Heitmann received a trade ban from Valve, meaning he could no longer trade any of the items and weapons he kept in his inventory. Some YouTube creators, and CS:GO skin traders, like Sparkles, suggested that Heitmann’s inability to trade could have cost him $100,000,” Polygon reported.
He was also a Counter Strike: Global Offensive player and video creator. Heitmann’s site CS:GO Magic was reported to have been “shut down in 2016 after Valve updated its policies about skin gambling sites leveraging Steam as a way to attract players. But the site was up and running and Heitmann was promoting it in December of 2017.
5. Heitmann Hadn’t Uploaded a Video in Months
Heitmann had not been around for the last six months-plus. But according to Social Blade, his videos were still being viewed. In fact, there was a recent spike in views which may be related to the crash. He had a ‘B” rating on the site and its analytics show that he peaked between October of 2015 and July of 2016 where he was earning nearly 10 million views.
In February of 2018, his last upload, he asked his Twitter followers, he has nearly 300,000, to check out the video. He said it took years to make.
“His last video, he said, This vid took ages to make and like 2 years of collecting skins so def give it a watch if you’re into my vids ?”
This vid took ages to make and like 2 years of collecting skins so def give it a watch if you’re into my vids 👍
Still, many were incredulous that his videos, gaming or popularity was even mentioned. He killed two people.