Yapta founder Brett Allsop was killed Tuesday night after the car he was driving near Bellingham struck a tree. The father of two -- who founded the online travel startup in January 2006 and served as its chairman until his death -- was 38. Yapta Chief Executive Tom Romary said Allsop will be missed.

"We are all grieving about Brett and our thoughts and prayers are with his family," said Romary, who joined Yapta eight months after it was founded. "It is a tremendous loss. He was an exceptional person -- ethical, bright, innovative -- and I will miss him dearly."

Allsop was an entrepreneur at heart, growing up around his family's consumer products business.

"I love helping to create that break through idea," he wrote on his LinkedIn page. "In summary, I really love entrepreneurship with early stage technology companies."

After studying mechanical engineering at Stanford University, he co-founded the online sporting goods company Fogdog. In 2003, he returned to the family business, Allsop Inc., in Bellingham where he served as president until his death.

The Bellingham Herald reported on the accident, noting that Allsop's 2007 BMW 328 went off Northshore Road and hit a tree. He was wearing a seat belt and an autopsy is to be performed later this week.