John, born, John Forbes Nash Jr., was 86 and his wife was 82. The two were riding in a taxi cab near the New Jersey Turnpike when their driver lost control of the Ford Crown Victoria while trying to pass a Chrysler. Both cars crashed a guard rail and the Nashes were ejected, NJ.com reported. A police officer told the outlet that "it doesn't appear that they were wearing seatbelts."

The taxi driver was cut out of the wreckage and was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, while a passenger in the Chrysler was treated for neck pain, the officer told NJ.com.

John won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1994 for his work in game theory and worked as a senior research mathematician at Princeton University.

A Beautiful Mind also depicted his battle with paranoid schizophrenia. His wife, who Jennifer Connelly played in A Beautiful Mind, was his caretaker.

"This is a great loss," the actress said in a statement. "John and Alicia Nash were an inspiration and I have deep admiration for all that they accomplished in their lives. My thoughts are with their family."

Howard also paid tribute to the couple.