He was killed as the result of a traffic accident that occurred in the
Denver suburb of Lakewood on the evening of July 6, 1972 at about 3:25
PM. He had been en route to visit his wife at a Denver hospital. He was
driving a camper van, lost control and crashed into a parked
construction truck on the side of the road, causing his camper to roll
onto its side, pinning him in the wreckage of his vehicle for a while
before being taken to St. Anthony Hospital where he died at 7:20 PM of
multiple injuries including a broken back, neck, and leg. He was not
wearing a seat belt. De Wilde had been in the Denver area to co-star in
the Elitch Theatre production of Butterflies Are Free, which ended July
1.
