Comedian Robert Schimmel dies after fatal car crash

Schimmel, the stand-up comedian best known for his appearances on 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien' and 'The Howard Stern Show,' had met with a serous accident on Aug. 26 in Phoenix, Arizona that left him in critical condition.

Schimmel dies of crash injuries
He was a passenger in his 19-year-old daughter Aliyah's car when she lost control after swerving to avoid another accident on a Phoenix highway, New York Daily News reported Bragman as saying.

Aliyah was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, and is expected to recover soon, and Schimmel's 11-year-old son, who reportedly was also a passenger in the car, was not injured.

Slightly more than a week after being seriously injured in the car accident, the Bronx-born Schimmel passed away Friday at a hospital in Phoenix, Ariz., Bragman confirmed Saturday.

Schimmel's life was marked by health issues
In 1998, Schimmel suffered a heart attack, and in June 2000, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a cancer of lymphocytes, which is a type of white blood cell that moves around the body as part of its role in the immune system, from which he recovered.

His 2008 memoir 'Cancer on $5 a Day: How Good Humor Got Me Through the Toughest Journey of My Life' chronicles his battle with the disease. He lost his son Derek to leukemia at age 11.

The Scottsdale, Arizona native met his second and current wife Melissa during one of his hospital stays with the disease. Melissa was a friend to his daughter and just two years her senior.

Schimmel married his first wife, Vicki, in 1977, and they had four children together.

Fellow comics tweeted their condolences
Stunned by their friend, fellow comedians took to their Twitter accounts Saturday to express their shock and sadness over the sudden demise of the comic star, Radaronline.com reports.

"Robert Schimmel was one the first people in comedy to call when my folks were fighting cancer. No ego no bs no small talk just inspiration," Dane Cook wrote on his Twitter account.

"I'm so sad about Robert Schimmel dying. I've been checking the news for 3 hours hoping it wasn't true. He was very funny and wonderful," Penn Jillette wrote.

"Robert Schimmel was one of the funniest and nicest guys in comedy," Jimmy Kimmel tweeted.

"It's terrible news. He was one of the nicest guys in comedy, R.I.P ROBERT SCHIMMEL," Joe Rogan tweeted.

The stand up comedian’s brother Jeff Schimmel also confirmed the sad news on his Facebook page saying, "Son, Brother, Father, Grandfather, Comedian, Generous Man. I have always loved you, admired you, and was proud to be your biggest fan. I will never forget a single moment. R.I.P."

Schimmel is survived by his father, Otto; sister, Sandy; brother, Jeffrey and his second wife, Melissa.

The comedian is also survived by his three children from his first marriage, Jessica, Aliyah and Jacob, and two sons from his second marriage, Max, and Sam.