In her darkest days, Erin Wood says she found some solace in the kindness of strangers, of gamers, of you.


Brian Wood, the lead designer of Company of Heroes Online, was driving his pregnant wife, Erin Wood, to their family home on Whidbey Island in Washington State on Sept. 3 when an out-of-control Chevy Blazer crossed the center line of the road they were on and smashed into the Wood's Subaru wagon.


Wood swerved the wagon at the last minute, putting himself between the oncoming truck and his pregnant wife. That last minute act of heroism cost Wood his life, but saved the lives of his wife and unborn child, police say.

Company Of Heroes Designer's Widow Tells Her Story Erin Wood, the widow of Company of Heroes Online lead designer Brian Wood who died tragically in a Read more

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Gamers around the world rallied to the cause, sending their well wishes, prayers and donations to the grieving widow, Erin Wood told Kotaku last night in an email. She said the unexpected kindness is helping ease the painful loss.

Hello. My name is Erin Wood, and I wanted to send a request to please pass along my most sincere and heartfelt thanks to the gaming community for the overwhelming support provided to me in the past two weeks. I asked coworkers of Brian how I might best send my thanks, and they recommended sending them to Kotaku - hence this email. Any way you can help share this with the community would be much appreciated. Brian always told me about how close-knit and wonderful the video game community was, but I had no idea until this tragedy just how special a group it really is. From all the articles and comments, to the emails and donations, I am simply stunned and so touched by the love, kindness, and generosity shown to me and my family. As everyone knows, the last 10 days have been the most difficult, dark days of my life. But this journey has been eased tremendously by the thoughts, prayers, and well wishes received from friends, family, and strangers living all over the world. It is so meaningful for me to hear about how his work and enthusiasm for the industry has touched others. Brian was completely and utterly devoted to the game industry, and was pretty much living his dream every day. He woke up every morning excited to be working in such a creative, demanding field. It was such a joy to be married to someone who was absolutely passionate about his professional life. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for the compassion and support. It is so appreciated, and has been a light to me in this impossible situation. Warm wishes,

Erin

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Erin Wood and her family.

Visit the Brian Wood Memorial Trust webpage to see how you can help.