Dennis McDougal, the author who made his name as a muckraking Los Angeles journalist and went on to publish more than a dozen books, has died at 77, the New York Times reports.

McDougal and his wife, Sharon McDougal, were killed in a car crash in Riverside County, California.

McDougal was born and raised in Southern California and served in the United States Navy Reserve before working as a reporter for the Riverside Press-Enterprise, Long Beach Press-Telegram, and Los Angeles Times.

He published his first book, Angel of Darkness, in 1991. It told the story of Randy Kraft, the serial killer who is believed to have slain as many as 67 people in the 1970s and ’80s and is currently on death row in California.

McDougal’s other books include Fatal Subtraction, an account of the Buchwald v. Paramount trial co-written with Pierce O’Donnell; the true-crime books In the Best of Families, Mother’s Day, and The Yosemite Murders; and the biographies Privileged Son, Five Easy Decades, and Dylan. His book about real estate developer Steve Wynn, Citizen Wynn: A Sin City Saga of Power, Lust, and Blind Ambition, is scheduled for publication by Rare Bird in May.

McDougal’s admirers paid tribute to him on social media. On the platform X, journalist Steve Weinstein posted, “RIP to Dennis McDougal, my best mentor and a wonderful writer, friend and human being. Heartbroken at this news.”

And reporter John L. Smith wrote, “A dogged reporter, a gifted writer, and an even better person.”

Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.