Colleagues of a British man who died in a road crash have described his death as a "terrible and tragic loss".Dr Joseph Footitt, 37,died after a crash on Harbour Road earlier this week. His 36-year-old wife suffered minor injuries. It is understood they were on the Island to attend a wedding.Dr Footitt was a National Institute of Health Research Clinical Lecturer in the Airway Disease and Infection Research Section in the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI).A spokesman for the NHLI said: "“It is with great sadness that Imperial College London has learnt of the death of Dr Joseph Footitt.“Dr Footitt joined the College in 2007 and was an outstanding scientist whose clinical research was making great strides to advance our understanding of treatments for emphysema and chronic bronchitis."The thoughts and condolences of the College community are with Mr Footitt's family, friends and colleagues at this tragic time."Sebastian Johnston, Professor of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy at the NHLI, who worked closely with Dr Footitt said: “This is a terrible, tragic loss."I have worked with Joseph for the last 5 years, and was looking forward to working closely with him into the future. He was an extra-ordinary man in the true meaning of the word, a great sense of humour, energetic, extremely talented and universally liked."His loss is devastating to many, both personally and professionally. My thoughts are with his wife, his parents and all those friends who were lucky enough to enjoy his wonderful company. We will miss him enormously.”