YouTube star Tré Melvin has been hospitalized after being hurt in a fatal automobile accident that claimed the life of his best friend, Katherya Pacheco-Mendoza, on Monday.
According to a statement published from the YouTube star’s Twitter account, he and Pacheco-Mendoza each sustained brain injuries in the collision.
“Early Monday morning, Tré was involved in a severe auto collision with his friend Katherya. Both are currently hospitalized and have suffered brain injuries. While Tré is stable, Kathy is unresponsive. Their families ask that you please send prayers, blessings, and positive vibrations their way. They will come out of this stronger and more powerful. So it is,” the statement read.
Later Melvin confirmed Pacheco-Mendoza’s death on Twitter. “i survived a fatal crash. my best friend didn’t. i don’t think i have ever been this numb. ever,” he wrote.
Melvin claimed that the accident was a hit and run. “To whoever hit us, and ran: kathy is now an ancestor. she will lead us to you,” he wrote.
Responding to inquiries from fans about his condition, Melvin noted that he’s “(physically) okay. i was knocked unconscious on impact and my brain bled fairly heavily but the bleeding stabilized this morning. my neck + my back want me dead, but that’s what meds are for.”
“I’m alive and I’m grateful,” he concluded.
Melvin, who has amassed more than 3 million subscribers on YouTube, had recently announced that he would be leaving the platform and creating his own subscription service tremelvin.tv to express his views on Black issues without restrictions.
“I will no longer allow the platform to censor my pain. i will no longer allow the platform to demonetize my pain. i will no longer sit at a table both my blackness and my queerness have never truly been welcome. i will build my own,” he wrote in a caption on Instagram.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Melvin and Pacheco-Mendoza families at this time.