For those that knew him, Patrick Landin will be treasured for his generous spirit.
“I will remember how much he gave his time to [us],” said Danielle Germain, director of operations at the American Council for Technology/Industry Advisory Council, where Landin worked. “There was his desire to honestly help people. It is a very big loss.”
Landin joined ACT/IAC in April 2005 and was quickly immersed in the family atmosphere of the small company.
“He just fit in really well,” Germain said. “Everyone liked him and admired him and enjoyed working with him. His personality and can-do attitude are something I hope to find again, both personally and professionally.”
Landin, 26, was killed in a car accident early in the morning Friday, July 9, along Route 50. Around 2:25 a.m. an off-duty Fairfax County police officer came across Landin’s Lexus in the right-hand lane at Route 50 and Airline Drive in Chantilly. Landin was found dead at the scene.
According to Fairfax County police, the investigation determined that Landin may have hit the back of a larger commercial vehicle.
“The front of the vehicle was extensively damaged,” police spokesperson Mary Mulrenan said. “There were no other vehicles around at the scene.”
The accident is under investigation by police, although there is still a lot that is unknown, including how long before being discovered the accident occurred.
“With how busy Route 50 is we don't expect it was long,” Mulrenan said.
While police are still unsure of how the accident happened, officials are not leaning towards a hit and run.
“It is possible the other driver might not have known he had been hit,” Mulrenan said.
The details of the accident, however, are not as important to the people who knew Landin best as the fact that he is gone.
“I saw so much potential in him,” Germain, who spoke at Landin’s funeral, said. “He was a good person with a good heart who loved his family and will be greatly missed. I wish more people had gotten the opportunity to know him.”
For his family, this is still a difficult time.
“He was a wonderful kid,” his father, Richard Landin, said. “That really just sums it up.”
— Erika Jacobson