UPDATE: Thomas Gazzola died Wednesday afternoon after he was taken off life support. He was 55.

The daughter of a Washington State University Vancouver math professor and nationally renowned puzzle expert who was critically injured while jogging last week said her father will be taken off life support Wednesday.

Thomas James Gazzola has been in critical condition at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center since he was struck by a pickup truck last Wednesday in a Northeast Portland neighborhood, said Liz Gazzola.

Although friends and family members held out hope that Gazzola would recover, doctors told the family that Gazzola was experiencing no brain activity. Depending on how his body reacts after life support is removed, most of his organs will be donated, his daughter said.

"Heartbreaking doesn't begin to cover the pain and astonishment," Liz Gazzola posted on her father's Facebook page. "More than anything, he would want everyone to be happy, to keep enjoying life, playing games, holding your loved ones close. My Dad has the most magnificent mind of anyone I've ever known."

Thomas Gazzola's immediate family - his wife, Dr. Kimberly Goslin; 20-year-old son, Clark; and 19-year-old daughter, Liz - plan to be with him when he dies Wednesday.

Portland police say Thomas James Gazzola, 55, was jogging in a residential neighborhood last Wednesday afternoon when he was struck by a pickup driven by Richard Earl Dryden of Longview, Washington.

Dryden, 63, was traveling east on Northeast Wasco Street just before 5:30 p.m. when he turned right onto Northeast 60th Avenue and struck Gazzola who was crossing the street in an unmarked crosswalk, according to police reports.

In court documents, Dryden told investigating officers that he was at a stop sign at Northeast 60th Avenue when he looked to the left, then right, then left again before turning. Because of vegetation that blocks the view to the north and south on 60th Avenue, motorists approaching on Wasco Street have to nose just short of the road to get a clear view. A low wall partly obscures the sidewalk to the driver's right.

Dryden said he never saw Gazzola until he saw a flash of white T-shirt hit his bumper and disappear from view. He said he felt the truck go over Gazzola's body.

In a probable cause affidavit, Dryden told investigators he had one 12-ounce beer at a tavern before the accident. He failed a field sobriety test and then acknowledged that he had three additional drinks at another tavern. Investigators are still waiting for results of a blood-alcohol test.

Dryden was arraigned last week in Multnomah County Circuit Court on accusations of driving under the influence of intoxicants and assault. He spent about seven hours in jail before being released on his own recognizance. Court officials say Dryden is scheduled to be back in court on June 18.

A grand jury will meet this week to consider an indictment on more serious charges, such as manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide.

A close friend, Matt Jones, said the math professor was active in the trivia and puzzle community in Portland and around the U.S.

The weekend before he was injured, Gazzola hosted the DASH 7 interactive puzzle competition. According to the event's website, "players race to find and solve creative puzzles hidden in different locations in cities all over the world. From fictitious graveyards to s'mores designed in Morse code to music clips containing a hidden message ..."

"He was set to host the Portland site for the World Quizzing Championships last Saturday," Jones said Tuesday. "I had to step in at the last minute to host for him."

Jones said Gazzola would be also be missed at the National Puzzlers' League convention in July in Vancouver, B.C., where he ran a self-invented and very popular trivia game each year.

In January, Gazzola and 39 of his teammates won the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Mystery Hunt competition, which challenges teams to solve puzzles that lead to a coin hidden on the MIT campus. Winners write the puzzle for the next year's competition. There were 1,600 participants this year.

In an Oregon Public Broadcasting radio interview after the competition, Gazzola said he and his sleep-deprived teammates solved 180 puzzles in 41 hours to win.

"It's a passion," Gazzola told OPB. "I'm always looking for things and thinking, 'Hey that could be used for a puzzle' ... I love to get an idea and watch it grow."

"His positive influence affects an extremely wide range of people," Jones said.

Students on the Rate My Professors website praised Gazzola.

"So far my favorite professor! He was beyond helpful, and always had something nice to say. Walked you through math step by step if you didn't get it. He took time to get to know his students, and work with them," wrote a student in his Math 106 class.

Another said, simply, "Best professor ever."

-- Stuart Tomlinson

stomlinson@oregonian.com

503-221-8313

@ORweather