UPDATE: DA says rock-throwing teens 'killed him like they killed her'

The husband of the Ohio school teacher who was critically injured when a rock was thrown from an Interstate 80 overpass in Union County died unexpectedly Saturday evening.

The family is in shock over the death of Randy L. Budd, 55, of Uniontown, Ohio, a relative said Sunday.

Budd was pronounced dead at 11:04 p.m. Saturday in his residence from a self-inflicted gunshot, Harry Campbell, chief investigator for the Stark County coroner's office, said Sunday.

He and his wife were the only ones in the house at the time, he said. Budd had texted family members telling them he loved them and his brother was on his way to the home, Campbell said.

Randy Budd enters the Union County Courthouse in Lewisburg with his wife on June 23, 2015.

He became known in central Pennsylvania because of the extended period he was in the area while his wife, Sharon, was a patient in Geisinger Medical Center near Danville.

He also attended fundraisers and Union County court hearings during the prosecution of four young men who are serving jail terms for throwing the rock and doing other acts of vandalism on the night of July 10, 2014.

Sharon Budd suffered severe head injuries and lost an eye after a 4 1/2-pound rock was thrown from an overpass west of Route 15 just before midnight. The rock smashed the windshield of the car in which she was a front seat passenger.

Since returning home she had been undergoing intensive training aimed at making her more independent.

Budd, a Massillon, Ohio, native, was a baseball pitcher before entering the business world.

The Montreal Expos took him the 22nd round of the 1981 amateur draft out of the University of Akron.

A right-hander, he played professionally two years in rookie and Class A ball posting a career 6-4 record.

Budd was vice president of sales and marketing of Radius Hospitality, a Canton, Ohio, hotel management and sales and revenue management solutions company.

His previous positions with Radius included director of sales, general manager, regional director of sales and marketing and district director of sales and marketing.

After his wife's injury, he became an advocate for overpass fences.

With the help of a legislator he got the Ohio Department of Transportation to adopt a policy that requires protective fencing on new overpasses and those that undergo major renovations.

He was working with state Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Lycoming, to accomplish the same thing in Pennsylvania.

He is survived by his wife and four children: Kaylee, who was driving the car in 2014; Lucas; James; and Joe.

Funeral arrangements have not been disclosed.

This story has been updated to include comments from the coroner.