Oculus Rift developer struck and killed in crosswalk during police chase (update)

Oculus VR computer graphics engineer Andrew Scott Reisse was struck and killed Thursday afternoon by a speeding car driven by gang members fleeing the scene of a fatal police-involved shooting, according to Santa Ana police.

Reisse, 33, was walking in a crosswalk, about 4 miles from the offices of Oculus VR, when he was struck and killed at the end of the mile-long police chase on Thursday. The Dodge Charger that police say hit Reisse crashed about 100 feet down the road, according to KABC-TV, and the three suspects in the car tried to flee but were captured by police.

The car chase began shortly before noon on Thursday after police got into a confrontation with a group of people, which ended in a police-involved fatal shooting.

Coworkers at Oculus VR, which makes the head-mounted Oculus Rift virtual reality display, told KABC-TV that some of them have known Reisse since college.

"Andrew's contributions span far and wide in the video game industry. His code is embedded in thousands of games played by millions of people around the world," according to a statement to the TV station. "Words can not express how sorely he will be missed or how deeply our sympathy runs for his family."

Police say the 21-year-old driver of the car faces murder charges.

Update: Oculus issued the following statement to Polygon:

"Andrew was a brilliant computer graphics engineer, an avid photographer and hiker who loved nature, a true loyal friend and a founding member of our close-knit Oculus family.

Some of us have known Andrew since college, and have worked with him at multiple companies beginning with Scaleform in Maryland which he helped start at age 19, then at Gaikai in Aliso Viejo, which brought him out to California, and finally at Oculus where he was a co-founder and lead engineer.

Andrew's contributions span far and wide in the video game industry. His code is embedded in thousands of games played by millions of people around the world.

Words can not express how sorely he will be missed or how deeply our sympathy runs for his family.

Andrew will always be in our thoughts and will never be forgotten. We love you, Reisse."

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