What happened to Toyota World Runners Stacey and Matthew? Tributes pour in as YouTubers die in tragic crash

Stacey Tourout and Matthew Yeomans, the Canadian couple behind Toyota World Runners, lost their lives in a crash on Thursday, August 7. 

Colleen Tourout, Stacy’s mother, shared the tragic news in a Facebook post. She revealed that the pair had an off-road crash in the mountainous region of British Columbia, Canada. Unfortunately, neither survived as they succumbed to the injuries. Colleen further wrote: 

“Please keep us and them in your thoughts and prayers as  we navigate this devastating end to an amazing Love Story. They are together forever as we knew they would always be.” 

Stacey and Matthew, both 31, hailed from Nanaimo, British Columbia, and were known for documenting their off-roading adventures and road trips. The couple famously built the world’s first Land Cruiser Chinook in 100 days and named it “Sunday.” The vehicle is a custom RV that uses a Toyota Chinook, a ‘70s camper’s body, over a Land Cruiser chassis.

The Nanaimo couple also filmed and posted their customizations and retrofits on their YouTube channel. Stacey and Matthew took their custom overland RV on a cross-country trip from Canada to Argentina. According to Nanaimo News Bulletin, during their pan-American road trip, the pair travelled across 17 nations over 17 months. 

Matthew Yeomans and Stacey Tourout started dating in 2019, before joining hands to create Toyota World Runners 

The Nanaimo pair travelled to several countries in their high-modified Land Cruiser Chinook, but they seemingly started planning years ago. According to Nanaimo News Bulletin, Matthew and Stacey started dating in 2019, the same year he shared his plans of driving to Argentina. Tourout told the outlet in January: 

“That was the second-date ultimatum. He was, like, ‘You either come or you don’t.’ I was stoked on the idea. I honestly didn’t know you could drive there.”

While the couple started Toyota World Runners in 2020, their trip didn’t start for a couple of years. In the meantime, Matthew and Stacey planned their tour and customized an RV, on which they travelled through South America. 

 

 

 

 

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They also uploaded documentary-style videos of their journey through Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Argentina, and more. Speaking with Nanaimo News Bulletin, Stacey Tourout talked about the trip and how it became a career: 

“The trip, in itself, was amazing, but I think because we were filming there were so many different things that had to be integrated together, so we never got bored.” 

Tourout added: 

“That was Toyota World Runners’ purpose. We need this to work so we're going to put all our energy into making the best films we can and then we found a lot of joy in making them better and we turned it into a career just from a trip.” 

Yeomons also reflected upon how their videos helped fund their trip after their savings were exhausted. Matthew told Nanaimo News Bulletin in January: 

“When we shipped the Chinook from Panama to Colombia, it cost us about five grand and that was most of our savings… So we made one really long video of all of our Mexico stuff and then that one video paid us a few grand and then we're like, 'we're back.'”

It was during this trip that Matthew proposed to Stacey and filmed it, he told the Nanaimo News Bulletin. 

Tributes pour in after the Toyota World Runners founders die in a car crash

After the news of their death broke, many fellow content creators and fans reacted under Matthew and Stacey’s last Instagram post. Nick and Mathilde of Next Meridian Expedition (@nextmeridian.expedition) wrote under Toyota World Runners’ post: 

“Matthew & Stacey! You guys are legends ❤️ RIP. We’ll cherish forever following the Pan-American with you guys, chatting about the hotspots to check out and learning from each other! Condolences to family & friends, we truly admired Matthew & Stacey. ❤️” 

Chase (@chase.in.point) of Two Track Nation also sent his condolences: 

“Terrible news I just heard, thank you for everything you did in our community. Hope you both have the most epic campsites you’re both relaxing at forever ❤️” 

Tirado Racing’s Brian Garcia (@brian_garcia_tirado) expressed: 

“Matthew and Stacey made me fall in love with simple overlanding, old rigs and good company. I enjoyed watching every episode and felt connected to them even though I had never met them. RIP” 

Loose & Lost (@loose_and_lost) also paid a tribute: 

“Shocked and sad by the news. Definitely inspired many and myself living out their dreams and nicest genuine humans whenever our paths cross. Will be missed greatly. RIP Matt & Stacey 🙏🏽”

Toyota World Runners garnered massive attention from viewers across the globe. The late couple’s YouTube channel has earned over 201,000 subscribers, while their Instagram handle has over 73.3K followers.