Timothy Wright, the Brooklyn-born reverend whose gospel music reached countless followers far beyond New York City, died just after 1 a.m. Friday at Bronx Veterans Hospital from injuries sustained in a car accident last year.

He was 61 years old.

Wright, the pastor at the Grace Tabernacle Church of God in Christ in Crown Heights, was critically injured last July 4th in a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 80 near Loganton, Pennsylvania, that also killed his wife and grandson.

The Wrights had been returning from a Church of God in Christ
conference in Detroit. Their vehicle was struck by a car going the wrong way, whose driver also died in the accident.

Wright was placed on a respirator following the accident and was in a wheelchair when he greeted supporters at a Javits Center event in October.

Students at the Trey Whitfield School in Crown Heights had been planning to honor the reverend, who was a regular at the school. They went ahead today with a tribute to Wright and his music.

Teachers and students say he was a great influence.

"He was just a sweet, sweet person," said Dr. Bobby Banks, the school's musical director and longtime Wright friend and promoter. "And our hope was in Christ. And it's still there."

"I was hoping for him to come back and sing," said student Joshua Sherron. "And it's like, like a piece missing from gospel music cause he is a legend."

Wright released more than a dozen gospel recordings, including 1994's "Come Thou Almighty King," which made the Billboard Top 20 charts for gospel albums and was nominated for a Grammy Award for best traditional soul gospel album.

He received another Grammy nomination for his 1999 recording of "Been There Done That."

Other hits included "Who's On The Lord's Side" and "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus." He also worked for Manhattan radio station WLIB.

In 1976 Wright formed the Timothy Wright Concert Choir and later became the music director for Brooklyn's Washington Temple Church of God in Christ.