New York art director killed in car crash involving Salma Hayek's brother
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesArt director Ian Cuttler Sala at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Sala died in a car crash. He was in the passenger's seat of a vehicle being driven by Salma Hayek's brother, Sami Hayek.
The man killed Sunday in Los Angeles when Salma Hayek's brother crashed his sports car was a Grammy Award-winning art director from New York City, officials said Tuesday.
Art director Ian Cuttler Sala, 43, was the passenger in the two-seater sports car driven Sunday by Sami Hayek, newsandtalking.blogspot.com reported.
Sala lived in New York City, authorities said.
His parents flew to Los Angeles from Mexico after receiving word of the fatal accident, police said.
Investigators haven't yet determined the exact cause of death for Sala. He suffered major blunt force trauma in the accident and was declared dead at the scene of the crash Sunday.
Hayek, 40, was driving eastbound on Sunset Boulevard in Holmby Hills when he lost control of his 2006 Ford GT shortly before 5 p.m. and veered into the path of an oncoming Toyota Tacoma truck traveling westbound, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Sala's passenger side of the rare two-seater took the brunt of the impact, photos of the twisted wreckage from RMG News revealed.
It's not known how fast Hayek was driving when he crashed.
Hayek and the 20-year-old driver of the truck he collided with escaped without major injuries.
According to Sala's website, his awards include a Grammy for art direction for 'Johnny Cash: The Legend' box set music package.
His bio said he moved to Manhattan in 1996 and worked for nine years at Sony Music, creating visual campaigns for artists such as Beyoncé, Ricky Martin, Billy Joel, Mariah Carey, Julio Iglesias, Marc Anthony and Destiny's Child.
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Working as Ian Cuttler, he carved out his own commercial photography career after leaving Sony.
Sala shared his modest apartment with a new roommate found online on Craigslist about a month ago.
'He was really down to earth,' said his roommate Tashina Finkton, 22, a model.
Sala had gone to Los Angeles to shoot an author for a book cover, she said. She had no idea how he knew Sami Hayek.
She saw Sala's Grammy when she moved in, she said.
'I was like, 'Oh damn, he's got a Grammy.' He was just really good at his photography. He went out and shot in California and the next thing you know...,' she said.
'He was really genuine, a very sweet person ... It's so sad.'
Sami Hayek, a furniture designer, suffered several broken ribs and a head laceration, police said.
Alvin Gomez, the 20-year-old driver of the 2011 white pickup, suffered a broken foot and complained of pain to his body, police said.
Both survivors were transported to a nearby hospital.
With News Wire Services
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