Family, friends and fans are in mourning after Leonard Ford, a.k.a. Louie Rankin, the Jamaican actor and dancehall reggae artist, died in a car crash near Shelburne, Ont.

Rankin, 66, was best known for his 1992 track Typewriter, and went by the nickname the "Original Don Dada." Rankin's verified Twitter account confirmed his death.

It saddens us to have to announce that The “ORGINAL DON DADA” “Trail Blazer” the legend - Louie Ox Rankin passed away this morning! May God keep his soul with his father, sister and neice in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/heaven?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#heaven</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/amen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#amen</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sipox?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sipox</a> —@LouieOxRankin

The post reads: "It saddens us to have to announce that The "ORIGINAL DON DADA" "Trail Blazer" the legend - Louie Ox Rankin passed away this morning! May God keep his soul with his father, sister and niece in #heaven #amen #sipox."

Tributes have already been pouring in on social media from everyone from celebrities like DJ Khaled to those in the Greater Toronto Area, Rankin's adopted home.

"Yooo this day been so heavy and sad for me…," Adrian Sullivan Jr. wrote on Twitter.

Rankin appeared in the movie Belly with Nas, Method Man and TLC's Tionne (T-Boz) Watkins; in the film, he played a drug lord named Ox.



He went on to appear in motion pictures including 2002's Shottas, 2014's We Run These Streets and the 2015 short film Q, according to iMDb.

Danny Singh, one of Rankin's fans, wants the Toronto Raptors to pay tribute to the late reggae singer. Singh notes that Rankin was "responsible for riling up the fan base here in the city."

Hope the <a href="https://twitter.com/Raptors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Raptors</a> pay respects to the original don dada on opening night. Louie was responsible for riling up the fan base here in the city. RIP <a href="https://twitter.com/LouieOxRankin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LouieOxRankin</a> 🙏 —@Dgs0723

Meanwhile, a fan who goes by the name SILK said he is "absolutely torn up about this."

"From Shottas to Belly to residing in Toronto and being a massive Raptors supporter, the original don dada was a living legend."

Sadly unexpected news of <a href="https://twitter.com/louierankin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@louierankin</a> passing Jamaican <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dancehall?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Dancehall</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/legend?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#legend</a> We in Toronto thank him for his undying loyalty & quotes for our <a href="https://twitter.com/Raptors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@raptors</a> or in his words <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rapchazz?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Rapchazz</a> ToTheWorld <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheNorth?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheNorth</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/riplouierankin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#riplouierankin</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/the6ix?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#the6ix</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Toronto?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Toronto</a> 🇨🇦 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jamaica?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Jamaica</a> 🇯🇲 <a href="https://t.co/a3znhU2nje">pic.twitter.com/a3znhU2nje</a> —@strizzzy

Police investigating deadly collision

Ontario Province Police said they were called to Highway 89 between County Road 12 and the 4th Line around 9:15 a.m. for a collision involving a passenger vehicle and a transport truck.

Rankin, who was driving the passenger vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene, OPP said. The driver of the transport truck wasn't injured.

OPP said the cause of the collision is still under investigation.