Los Angeles Country coroner’s officials confirmed on Sunday that the 68-year-old filmmaker and younger brother of Ridley Scott leapt to his death from the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro, California.

Officials and port police said the director scaled a fence by the bridge’s highest point and jumped “without hesitation” around 12.30pm Pacific Time.

Local newspaper The Daily Breeze reported that authorities discovered a suicide note inside Scott’s Toyota Prius parked nearby. The contents of the note had not been made public at time of writing.

Scott was born on June 21, 1944 in North Shields, Northumberland, England. His directing credits include Top Gun, True Romance, Beverly Hills Cop II, Days Of Thunder, and Spy Game. His recent projects include Man On Fire, Unstoppable, and the remake of The Taking Of Pelham 123, two of five films he made with Denzel Washington. He was in development wth Tom Cruise on a Top Gun sequel.

In 1995 the brothers founded Scott Free Productions and they also acquired a controlling stake in Shepperton Studios, which later merged with Pinewood. Tony Scott produced Prometheus directed by Ridley and The A-Team, among others.

He is survived by his brother, his third wife Donna and their sons Max and Frank.

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