The founding pastor of the famous Times Square Church in New York City, Rev. David Wilkerson, died in a head-on traffic collision on the Neches River Bridge in East Texas on Wednesday afternoon (April 27).

The 79 year-old pastor, who is the author of 1963’s bestseller “The Cross and the Switchblade”, was reportedly not wearing a seatbelt and his wife, Gwendolyn Wilkerson, was also injured. Wilkerson is survived by his wife Gwendolyn and four children.

The family released an official statement in World Challenge official website:

Wilkerson grew up in a home “full of Bibles” and Christian music in Barnesboro, Pa. before he began preaching at the age of 14. When Wilkerson moved to New York, he started Teen Challenge, a drug, alcohol and evangelism outreach program. He later moved to Tyler, Texas, where he founded a similar organization called World Challenge.

R.I.P. David Wilkerson.