Investigation continues into fatal crash of Chris Laurie in Corona
A church official remembers Laurie, 33, as someone who 'had really begun to blossom.' He was the son of pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside.
Investigators were still trying to determine this afternoon how fast Christopher Laurie, son of mega-church pastor Greg Laurie, was driving when he hit a Caltrans truck and was killed Thursday in Riverside County.
By late afternoon, family supporters had left more than 7,000 comments on Greg Laurie's blog offering condolences to him and his wife, Cathe Laurie.
"They are very grateful for all the love and the support and the prayers that have been given to their son," said David Riley, a family friend who once employed Chris Laurie at his Newport Beach graphic design firm.
Laurie, 33, of Huntington Beach, was driving "at a high rate of speed" in the carpool lane of the eastbound Riverside Freeway in Corona when his station wagon collided with a California Department of Transportation tractor, the California Highway Patrol said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
No other vehicles were involved and no one else was injured, authorities said.
Laurie was home-schooled through high school and graduated from the Laguna Beach Art Institute, Riley said.
Riley hired Laurie as an art director and Web designer. He described Laurie as a practical joker, an avid surfer with a great sense of humor. They worked together for four years, until Laurie was hired three years ago as art director at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, the 15,000-member evangelical church where his father rose to national prominence.
Riley said he last saw Chris Laurie on Wednesday at the church, where they talked for several hours about a new church building they were working on. Laurie was upbeat, excited about his daughter Stella's second birthday Saturday. He was arranging pony rides for the children, Riley said.
"I don't know many men who were as sensitive and caring" as Laurie, Riley said.
Before that, he had worked at David Riley & Associates, a. graphic design firm in Newport Beach, said John Collins, an administrative pastor at the church and director of Harvest Crusades.
"He had a real great artistic eye, which he shares with his father," said Collins, adding that the younger Laurie "had really begun to blossom, not only as someone who was utilizing their gifts for the sake of God's kingdom, but also growing as a father and a husband."
Collins was with Greg Laurie on Thursday after the pastor received news of his son's death.
