SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah man who ran a science-themed YouTube channel with more than 11 million subscribers has died in a paraglider crash.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday 38-year-old Jonathan Grant Thompson was the pilot who was found dead in southern Utah on July 29.
Thompson was known on YouTube as “The King of Random,” creating videos of experiments and how-to science tips that have been watched more than a billion times.
He made headlines last year after complaints about explosive noises in his suburban Salt Lake City backyard brought criminal charges. Thompson later agreed to make safety-themed videos in a plea deal that would have wiped his record clean.
His many followers are expressing their condolences, and YouTube said in a tweet that he was a “gifted, passionate and endlessly curious creator.”
