[crabapple]

Sorry to announce that director Bob Clark (of "A Christmas Story," "Black Christmas" and "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things") and his son have died in a car accident.

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From Associated Press:

LOS ANGELES -- Film director Robert Clark, best known for the beloved holiday classic "A Christmas Story," and his son were killed Wednesday in a car wreck, the filmmaker's assistant and police said.

Clark, 67, and son Ariel Hanrath-Clark, 22, were killed in the accident in Pacific Palisades, said Lyne Leavy, Clark's personal assistant.

The two men were in an Infiniti that collided head-on with a GMC Yukon around 2:30 a.m. PST, said Lt. Paul Vernon, a police spokesman. The driver of the other car was under the influence of alcohol and was driving without a license, Vernon said.

The driver, Hector Velazquez-Nava, 24, of Los Angeles, remained hospitalized and will be booked for investigation of gross vehicular manslaughter after being treated, Vernon said. A female passenger in his car also was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, police said.