Christopher Schaffer and Patrick Phyrillas dead in crash

In a terrible Pennsylvania vehicle accident, two young YouTube stars were killed and another suffered injuries.

According to the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office, Christopher Schaffer, 25, and Patrick Phyrillas, 22, both of Reading, Pennsylvania, died from blunt force trauma after their car collided with a tractor trailer on Sunday in Upper Macungie Township. The deaths were ruled an accident.

The pair were regulars on James Phyrillas’ well-liked YouTube channel. James was also in the car but survived.

The channel, which had around 1.7 million subscribers and a regular viewership of seven figures, was devoted to critiquing animation.

James Phyrillas wrote about the tragedy in a series of heartbreaking Twitter posts.

“Home now after 3 days in the hospital, with my ribs fractured, my lung punctured, my body bruised, my heart broken,” he said. “Patrick and Chris were my best friends. Been trying to wrap my head around why I was spared. Where I go from here.”

He also vowed to continue posting videos to his channel.

“Thanks again for all your kind words,” he said. “Please don’t judge me to trying to continue my jovially toned videos. I don’t know how else to be. I have been torn apart on the inside and I need to cope in my own way. Thank you.”

James Phyrillas also revealed to grieving fans that his deceased colleagues had recorded material before the disaster, and he promised to release their final performances in the future.