Mike Ey, a 30-year-old software engineer working on Microsoft’s HoloLens project, was killed on Saturday after another driver rear-ended him going 100 miles an hour.
Ey’s friends, who spoke to KIRO-TV, remembered the man as reliable and passionate about his work.
Philippe Johnson, who was the last to see Ey alive Saturday morning, told Kiro he was a “tremendous” friend. His girlfriend, Kelley Piering, said Ey considered Microsoft’s HoloLens augmented reality headset “the coolest thing ever.”
“It’s looking at the future while holding the present. Mike said it wasn’t perfect but it was going to be one day,” she said.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by this loss of a wonderful engineer, colleague and friend. We extend our sympathy to Mike’s friends and loved ones,” said a Microsoft spokesperson.
The driver of the speeding car has been identified as Robert Malsch, who is facing charges of vehicular homicide and felony hit and run. Malsch had tried to escape the scene, but police dogs found him unconscious in a ravine near the crash on state Route 520. After the crash, he was taken to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries.
On Monday, a King County judge ordered Malsch be held on $100,000 bail.
According to Ey’s Facebook page, the Woodinville, Wash. resident joined Microsoft in June 2013. Previously, he studied game design and development at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he graduated in 2010.
