Entertainment lawyer and former Napster COO Milton Olin Jr. remembered by family and friends; he died Sunday

Milton Olin Jr., former Napster COO and entertainment attorney for Altschul & Olin LLP, died Sunday after being hit by a sheriff's patrol car while riding a bicycle.

According to reports by the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Country Sheriff's Department said Olin (of Woodland Hills, California) and the patrol car were traveling in the same direction on Mulholland Highway in the Calabasas suburb when the collision occurred.

Olin was struck while riding in the bicycle lane. He landed on the patrol car's windshield, shattering the glass before falling off into the street.

The deputy (whose identity has not been revealed) survived the accident but was taken to the hospital to treat cuts and bruises. An investigation of the crash is ongoing, but neither party was speeding and no drugs or alcohol are believed to have been factors, according to CBS2.

Olin was a lawyer and music industry veteran. Prior working with Napster and founding Altschul & Olin LLP, he worked for Firstlook.com, a start-up that previewed movies, music and games, and was the vice president of business development for A&M Records, in charge of signing artists and acquiring music rights.

He recently gave an interview about the difficulty with music licensing and permissions worldwide and the need for an international music rights strategy.

Olin leaves behind a wife, two grown sons, friends and colleagues.

In an interview with the LATimes, Olin's 29-year-old son Christopher said, "We're devastated. He was a generous person with his time and counsel. ...There's a lot of people he left behind." He also mentioned that he and his brother would often ride bikes with their father. "It was something we liked to do together. He loved it even when we weren't available to ride."

Anita Vartanian, who worked with Olin for seven years at his law firm, told the Daily News, "He inspired everyone, and he treated each and every single person as though they were his child almost. He was an umbrella with 1,000 orphans under it. He took us all in and made each and every single person special from the get-go, and every client had a personal relationship with him. He didn't have clients - he had friends."

Joe Thomas, president of a record production company in Illinois who knew Olin both professionally and personally for almost 25 years, told the Daily News: "He was a very, very smart guy, ahead of his time in understanding the legalities of a new emerging business model for music. He was really an innovator. Without these music geniuses to figure it out, there wouldn't be the music industry as we know it. ...He was one of the lawyers that thought the tough but friendly approach was the way to go."

Musician Michael Franti left his remembrances of Olin on his Facebook page saying, "There are few people in music, especially on the legal side of the biz who loved music as much as Milt did, he wasn't a name dropper although he worked with the best, he was just always enthusiastic and you felt his passion. He was funny, he loved to laugh and he gave his all for the artists he worked for." Read the full post here.

We will update as more information on the investigation becomes available. Please leave your remembrances in the comments section below.