He reported from war zones and brought down a top American general with a hard-hitting profile.

But now American publishers and readers are mourning the death of young award-winning journalist Michael Hastings, who died on Tuesday in a car accident in Los Angeles.

Award-winning journalist and war correspondent Michael Hastings. Credit:AP

Hastings, who was 33, was described by many of his colleagues as an unfailingly bright and hard-charging reporter who wrote stories that mattered.

Matt Farwell, a veteran of the Afghanistan war who worked as a co-reporter with Hastings on some of his recent pieces, said in a eulogy sent to Rolling Stone, "Part of his passion stemmed from a desire to make everyone else wake the f--- up and realise the value of the life we're living."