Refugee workers David McCall, Yvette Pierpaoli, and Penny McCall died Sunday in Albania

April 19, 1999
Web posted at: 8:04 PM EDT (0004 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A New York advertising executive and his wife -- both working to ease the plight of Kosovo refugees -- were among the four people killed in a car accident Sunday in Albania, the State Department confirmed

David McCall, 71, and his wife Penny, 57, were killed when their car crashed on the trip from Tirana, the capital of Albania, to the city of Kukes, a chief destination for refugees fleeing the war in Kosovo.

The cause of the accident was not available, but heavy rains and treacherous road conditions are believed to have contributed to their deaths.

Also killed in the wreck was another refugee worker, Yvette Pierpaoli of France, and the Albanian driver of the vehicle.

David McCall was chairman of Shepardson Stern & Kaminsky, a New York advertising and public relations firm. Together with his wife, he served on the board of Refugees International, an organization that assesses refugee crises around the world and makes suggestions on how to improve the situation.

Officials at McCall's firm said part of the McCalls' mission in Albania was to explore the use of radio broadcasts to reunite families of refugees after their chaotic exodus from Kosovo.

Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special envoy to the Balkans who heads Refugees International, acknowledged the deaths in a statement released Monday.

"As highly successful and secure Americans, they could have lived a comfortable life surrounded by their family and their many friends," Holbrooke said in a written statement.

"Instead, they chose repeatedly to risk their lives in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Balkans to increase public awareness of the plight of people less fortunate than them," he said.

Since joining the organization, the McCalls traveled extensively to trouble spots to review humanitarian efforts and to act as advocates for refugees and others harmed by civil strife.

David McCall made at least five trips to Cambodia, including one trip with his wife in June 1997 to observe land mine removal efforts, according to Refugees International.

Refugees International was founded in 1979. The McCalls served on the board of directors with a list of notables, including philanthropist George Soros, actor Sam Waterston and golf course designer Robert Trent Jones Jr.

Holbrooke said the board of Refugees International had asked David McCall to succeed him as chairman. "He would have been magnificent in that position," Holbrooke said.