Michael Hastings Dead At 33; Award-Winning Journalist Victim Of Car Crash In Los Angeles

Award-winning journalist Michael Hastings has been confirmed dead. Known for his incisive political reporting, Hastings was the victim of a solo car crash in Los Angeles on Tuesday, according to his employers.

Los Angeles Police have not yet determined the cause of the crash and the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office had not yet determined by Wednesday that the remains of the body retrieved from the crash belonged to Hastings.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the body retrieved from the crash was "unrecognizable" and badly charred. Officials at the Coroner's Office are attempting to use dental records to make a positive identification of the victim, reported to be Hastings. No autopsy has been scheduled yet.

However, Hastings' employers at BuzzFeed and Rolling Stole magazine have already confirmed his passing. He was 33 years old and is survived by his wife Elise Jordan.

"We are shocked and devastated by the news that Michael Hastings is gone," BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith said in a statement on Tuesday. "Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians."

A native Vermonter, Hastings was widely recognized for his in-depth reporting on Gen. Stanley McChrystal, including a June 2010 story that led to the commander's resignation after Hastings quoted him ridiculing President Obama, Vice President Biden, and other officials in the Obama administration.

"Great reporters exude a certain kind of electricity, the sense that there are stories burning inside them, and there's no higher calling or greater way to live life than to always be relentlessly trying to find and tell these stories," said Rolling Stone managing editor Will Dana in comments on an obituary posted on the magazine's Web site.

The Los Angeles Police Department said it is unable to confirm yet the media reports that the man killed in the car crash on Tuesday was Hastings.

Officials did confirm, however, that the crash occurred at approximately 4:25 a.m. on Tuesday in Hollywood near North Highland and Melrose Avenues. A vehicle crossed the median, slammed into a tree and burst into flames, according to LAPD spokesman Officer Christopher No. The male occupant believed to be the only person involved in the crash was pronounced dead at the scene.