Early Monday morning, Jackass star Ryan Dunn and his friend Zachary Hartwell were killed in a fiery car crash that was reportedly due to excessive speed and drunk driving. Yesterday, police revealed that Dunn‘s car was traveling at a speed of 130 mph when it crashed into a tree and exploded into flames. Today, police confirm that alcohol did play a factor in the crash … Dunn‘s blood alcohol was over twice the legal limit.
“Jackass” star Ryan Dunn was extremely intoxicated at the time of his fatal crash Monday morning … with a blood alcohol level of more than TWICE the legal limit … this according to cops. West Goshen Police Chief Michael Carroll revealed Dunn’s B.A.C. was .196 … nearly two-and-a-half times the legal limit in Pennsylvania, which is .08. Carroll added, “No other substances were found in his blood other than the alcohol.” As TMZ reported, Dunn and his passenger were killed when Dunn lost control of his Porsche, crashed in a wooded area and his car exploded in flames.
Wow. I mean … what more is there to say. Drunk driving at 130 mph … it’s a miracle no one else was injured or killed in this crash.
[Source]
one of my favorite editors that I worked with at a major newspaper in chicago was t-boned by a drunk driver going 105mph when he was 24. he was just going to return a movie and woke up a week later in the hospital with his hip shattered and no left arm.
it took over 10 years for the drunk driver to be sentenced to jail for 5 years. his wife said “oh but he is sober now!” that doesn’t change what he did. This editor still doesn’t have his arm.
imagine waking up at 24 without your arm. not even your shoulder.
I have no sympathy for people who get in a car and drive after they’ve been drinking. period.
That poor guy! That is one of the saddest stories I’ve ever heard. And so-called system of [in]justice takes 10 years to convict someone guilty, while there is a horrendously high number of innocent people who’ve been railroaded by crooked prosecutors, with police help. . . . Our justice system is a wreck, but just try to get someone to go about fixing it! Hope your friend is coping well with his forever-changed life.
there you go, Jackass till the end.
and btw, it would be nice if the whole Jackass crew makes a PSA about drinking and driving.
I agree. Instead of spewing all over the place about how angry they are at people saying mean things about their friend, they should step up to the plate and admit he made a mistake and they hope people learn from this. Johnny Knoxville seems to be the only one of the group to be able to say that Ryan was in the wrong.
Its ok he made a mistake, it was bad judgement on Ryan’s part when he thought he was ok to drive and he paid the price for that, his whole family and friends have paid the price for that. Its when people say he deserved to die, nobody deserves to die not for a stupid mistake.
While I feel sympathy for his family and the family of the passenger on their loss, I cannot feel any sympathy for Ryan Dunn.
He knew what he was doing was both illegal and dangerous. He knew he had been arrested/cited previously, and pled guilty to the same crimes he was committing that night. Yet, he still did it. If you’ve had 20some odd citations for speeding and drinking and driving and have yet to change your behavior, well, I don’t want to say he deserved it, but he learned the ultimate lesson. I can’t feel badly about his death when he did it to himself.
I’m from the Lehigh Valley, which is about an hour or so from West Chester and the story of his death and local reaction has been all over our news this week. While I get Bam Margera is upset over the loss of his close friend, he also needs to stop being angry at others who make comments about the wreckless decisions Ryan made. It bothers me that he flipped out on Ebert, who, granted, could have been a little more sympathetic to the situation, but was merely pointing out the irony with his play on words. It will be interesting to see how the Jackass family handles this over the coming months.
I do think that when your friend (Siskel) has died of complications of cancer surgery and you (Ebert)are a cancer survivor yourself, what you probably would have wanted most if you could change things is that both of you would have been able to just live out normal lives. And if that is your wish, seeing Ryan Dunn treat the existence of his life and that of his friend in such a reckless manner would likely make you feel pretty angry.
grown ass man… still driving under the influence. that’s what is surprising me the most. if he was a 21 year old who just got his taste of an “adult life” it would be a little more understandable I guess, but a gorwn up man… maybe if he had children he would have been a little more responsible.
FUCK YOU!!! This man lost his LIFE!!! His family and friends are HEART BORKEN and UPSET and all you can say is THAT!!!!!! Pay your respect to the dead MOTHER FUCKER! Cause in the end, it WILL come back and bite you on the ASS!!!!
PEOPLE NO MATTER IF RYAN WAS DRUNK IS NOT THE POINT! A MOTHER AND FATHER LOST A SON AND HIS MISSUS HAS LOST HER PARTNER! HE WAS A FRIEND TO ALOT OF PEOPLE! YES HE WAS DRUNK BUT HE PAID WELL OVER THE PRICE….HE IS A GREAT LOSS TO ALOT OF PEOPLE SO STOP BEING SO MEAN! JUST UNDERSTAND THAT HE AND A FRIEND PAID THE ULTIMATE PRICE. sO IF YOU HVE NOTHING NICE TO SAY DONT SAY ANYTHING! RIP RYAN DUNN YOU WILL BE SORELY MISSED MORE THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW.
being drunk is entirely the point. driving drunk at 130mph is absolutely horrible, utterly terrible. he could have killed or seriously injured another driver. by doing what he did, he was putting others at risk. any time someone gets behind the wheel drunk they are putting others at risk. sad that a human being died, but dont let that distract society from the terrible problem that is drinking and driving. this absolutely and appropriately is all about drinking and driving and its consequences.
Not to mention he killed another innocent life, the passenger, due to his own poor choices.
It’s a sad situation- I loved Dunn…but he was an adult and should have known better then to get wicked ass drunk and then drive at ridiculous speeds in the dark.
Alchol makes you do the stupidest of things and Ryan has paid the ultimate price. None the less he didn’t deserve to dye in the horrific way that he did. And I’m sure he’s looking down on what he done and is kicking himself for it and if he could have the time again he would of done things differently. He touched the hearts of millions of people of people loved him wether not the knew him in person.
I don’t believe it’s fair for anyone to dirty his name, we all know fine well it was a stupid thing to do but it’s been done so just let people grieve and show some respect.
We all have done stupid things what could of ultimitly resulted in our death, I know I have, so I think people should reflect back on the stupid things we have all done before bashing him. The matter of fact is he was well loved and liked by millions and no one should disrespect or talk badly of those who have passed regardless of how they have died.
So… by your logic we should give a pass to the executed murderers, rapists and child molesters cause “they paid the ultimate price”… I bet some of them wish they “did things differently” also. I’m sure those who were put to death had loved ones as well. So we shouldn’t hold their record against them cause they’re dead now, right? I’m sure murdering people was “a stupid thing to do” but it’s done now… and the murderer was put to death, might as well show him respect.
The executed inmates are dead as a direct result of their actions, Ryan is dead as a direct result of his actions.
Yeah but has Ryan raped someone? No he hasn’t. My point his death was made by a stupid mistake so why beat him up over it? We all know it could have easily been prevented but why drag it out and talk shit about someone you don’t know? Why can you and other shit heads just leave it alone. If it happened to someone you lover or cared about youd be upset and grieving just like his family are, unless your just as insensitive as disrespectful as you are.
No, he didn’t rape anyone, but he took a life along with his and by grace it was only 1 other… And yeah it bothers me a bit cause i am a victim of a drunk driving tragedy, turned my entire life upside down with years of recovery… but woe is me, right? we should instead, respect & grieve the drunk driver cause he “made a stupid mistake.”
And I feel for the family cause they are victims too. The truth is the truth though. I’m not going to sit here and sugarcoat Ryan’s actions. But I’m sure you sent a message to the family of Zachary Hartwell “Ryan made a stupid mistake, we know it could have been easily prevented, but just leave it alone.” right? I’ll leave it alone when people realize its bigger than just a “stupid” mistake.
Just a stupid mistake? A mistake happens once, maybe twice…he has been arrested and caught drinking and driving DOZENS of times. Thats not a mistake. Thats a pattern of poor behavious and poor choices. His death was 100% preventable.
Its an extremely sad situation- I feel horrible for his friends and family. Its even more sad that he didn’t change his ways before this happened.
And you have to know that the number of times he was caught and ticketed was probably a fraction of the number of times he drank and drove. I hate to see anyone killed by bad judgement and I feel badly for his family, but he had more than enough wake up calls. Besides that, think of the total disregard he had for anyone else who may have been driving on the road during the multiple drunk driving bouts he had. He didn’t care if there were parents, children, whomever, in cars on the road at the same time he was.
I’m sorry, but how can you make a bigger deal out of Zachary than Ryan. Did Ryan put a gun to Zacharys head and told him to get into the car? Zachary got into the car knowing fine well that Ryan had alcohol in his system so to feel bad for him and not to feel bad for Ryan’s family is double standard.
Yeah fair play you have been affected by drunk
driver many people have but the only person he
killed was himself, Zachary played apart in his
own death by getting into the knowing he was intoxicated so there both as bad as each other.
It’s a tragic stupid mistake but the matter of fact is that he meant alot to people and can’t disgard the fact that clearly must of been a great
person for so many people to get upset over
him. If this bothers you so much why waste your time aggravating people with your harsh comments about him, go do something positive with your time instead of been bitter and trashing everyone who has something good to say about him.
Kattmow thanks for taking time to try and help these narrow minded people. At least you have heart. When someone dies it is horrible and to have someone die in such a stupid accident is frustrating. RIP Dunn x
@ Kay, you’re welcome chick x
you’ll be singing a different tune if one of your family members or a friend died, just because of a stupid drunk driver. Tragic accidents like this = Totally avoidable.
ryan and zach were family members!
I think the world lost one of the funniest people alive, for proof of that, listen to the memorial episode of radio Bam. This was a horrible story made worse, however, by your stupid comment at the end, saying “it’s a miracle no one else was injured or killed in this crash.” How is it? There was nobody else around??? Don’t put fucking stupid statements when reporting the end of somebody’s life.
My mum died in a cat accident through reckless driving. Regardless of fault lives were lost unnecessarily.
*car
I thank that Mr Dunn was a ‘drive’ fast die young(ish) type – he knew he was irreseponsible that seemed to define his life so all the hand wringing and arguing over the futility of his death is way beyond him now – learn the lesson and move on… with these wise words from a very talented English singer whom also enjoyed a tipple! (Jake Thakray)
I, the under-mentioned, by this document
Do declare my true intentions, my last will, my testament.
When I turn up my toes, when I rattle my clack, when I agonise,
I want no great wet weepings, no tearing of hair, no wringing of hands,
No sighs, no lack-a-days, no woe-is-me’s and none of your sad adieus.
Go, go, go and get the priest and then go get the booze, boys.
Death, where is thy victory? Grave, where is thy sting?
When I snuff it bury me quickly, then let carousels begin -
But not a do with a few ham sandwiches, a sausage roll or two and “A small port wine, please”.
Roll the carpet right back, get cracking with your old Gay Gordons
And your knees up, shake it up, live it up, sup it up, hell of a kind of a time.
And if the coppers come around, well, tell them the party’s mine, boys.
Let best beef be eaten, fill every empty glass,
Let no breast be beaten, let no tooth be gnashed.
Don’t bother with a fancy tombstone or a big-deal angel or a little copper flower pot:
Grow a dog-rose in my eyes or a pussy-willow
But no forget-me-nots, no epitaphs, no keepsakes; you can let my memory slip.
You can say a prayer or two for me soul then, but – make it quick, boys.
Lady, if your bosom is heaving don’t waste your bosom on me.
Let it heave for a man who’s breathing, a man who can feel, a man who can see.
And to my cronies: you can read my books, you can drive around in my motor car.
And you can fish your trout with my fly and tackle, you can play on my guitar,
And sing my songs, wear my shirts. You can even settle my debts.
You can kiss my little missus if she’s willing then, but – no regrets, boys.
Your rosebuds are numbered;
Gather them now for rosebuds’ sake.
And if your hands aren’t too encumbered
Gather a bud or two for Jake.
QUESTION: Anyone one reading this, have you ever lost a loved one who was actually THE drunk driver and when you found out the news and it sunk in did you think….`HE/SHE DESERVED IT etc etc???
Just wondering!! Drunk Driving is wrong full stop but some of these comments, so self righteous!!!!!
Yes he did something stupid and thank god did not kill any other innocent person on the road.
But to say that he deserved it well…maybe (yes he didn’t learn his lesson at all!!) Bet most of you wouldn’t be saying that to their family & friends faces!!
Right, but no one commenting on this site or anywhere else on the Internet is saying anything to his family and friends’ faces. That is beside the point – there are many things I would never say to grieving family members that may have been true about their loved one.
However, he REPEATEDLY risked the lives of innocent people when he drove recklessly (drunk or speeding), and so while I wouldn’t go so far as to say he deserved it, I don’t think you should be surprised that people, especially those whose lives have been affected by drunk drivers, would react strongly and speak out against what he did.
And just because a person dies does not mean others are required to think of them as perfect. I have lost loved ones to circumstances that made me both unbearably sad and also angry. You don’t know what his family and friends are thinking.
Calling this a mistake means that it was beyond his control, and as his prior citations and DUI attest, this wasn’t a mistake so much as reckless behavior from someone who should have known better. You need to stop being self-righteous as well.
I’m not condoning his actions AT ALL!!
It was obvious he was going to out like this and ultimately NEVERY LEARNT HIS LESSON!!
The point is, people do not to be making horrible comments about people deserving to die – and no i am not going to discuss my personal experiences. I’ve lost friends to stupidity but i would never say they deserved it!!
DRINK DRIVING IS A DUMB AND YOUR A JACK ASS FOR DOING IT!!
FULL STOP – Now you can go on continuing to be self-righteous…have a nice day :)
Oh and i’m sure you have never done anything stupid!! Your a saint!!
think you should double read my original post because i never called this a mistake!!
and 1 more thing for you Lilac…i’m not a jackass fan and never have been!! Just cause his dead does not mean i think his perfect…have some respect because maybe one day one of your family members might make a stupid mistake and pay the ultimate price!!! Think about it!!!! No one is perfect!
DRINK DRIVING IS A DUMB AND YOUR A JACK ASS FOR DOING IT!!
I absolutely agree with you – I don’t understand why you are upset at other people for saying the same thing. I also never identified you as a fan nor did I claim that you said Dunn was perfect – I was speaking generally about what happens after a person dies and how those left behind tend to sometimes rewrite their life experiences.
I think you are the one who needs to reread – I never attributed the “mistake” to your post, but many people are referring to what he did as a mistake. I also never said you were condoning his actions. I was calmly responding to your question about people losing loved ones. I also agreed with you that I don’t think people should say he deserved to die – go ahead and reread what I posted. I DID say that I am not surprised at the way people have responded, which (again) is not the same thing as condoning.
I never called myself a saint, and I never claimed to have never made mistakes. I have known many people who have done things just as dumb as Dunn has, and as I said, it made me upset, so I was talking about the complexity of feelings that loved ones go through. I haven’t ever endangered anyone else’s life by driving recklessly and/or drunk, though.
“have some respect because maybe one day one of your family members might make a stupid mistake and pay the ultimate price!!! Think about it!!!! No one is perfect!”- I don’t see how anything I said was disrespectful. And as I already said, in my original post that I HAVE lost loved ones.
Judging someone for an illegal act isn’t self-righteousness. You are judging people’s reactions and implying that they have less heart than they should, and by extension are bad people. That makes YOU self-righteous, but as this is an emotional debate, I am not judging anyone for their feelings towards the matter. People will react the way that they will, and while I am not crazy nor do I relate to some of the responses (including some that have clearly upset you), I am not surprised.
I didn’t mean to offend you, and you are clearly upset by my response. You asked a question, and I responded. I do hope that people are able to move past simply calling Dunn names and are able to talk about the problems our culture has with alcohol in general. That seems to be what you want, so I think fundamentally, we’re in agreement.
Oh my goodness! Maz, I’ve been reading your comments and understand TOTALLY what you are trying to say. I have an example: I’m from Nashville, TN and Monday morning a friend of mine, who I just spoke with Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. on Facebook, got THE PHONE CALL! Her son had been “run over” by an 18-wheeler!!! WHAT???? He was a great kid and had wonderful parents, however, he had a ”
DISEASE” called ADDICTION and ALCOHOLISM. There is a restaurant across the street from a truck stop. He crossed the street (walking) and ended up falling asleep underneath the 18-wheeler. The driver came out of the place, got in his truck, put it in gear and drove a quarter of a mile, made a turn and threw the boy out from under it. Word has spread like wild-fire and I am hearing some of the most HORRIBLE THINGS about this kid. PEOPLE NEVER CEASE TO AMAZE ME!! Everyone is saying, “He was a drug-addict; he was wasted, he was worthless, he just got out of jail,” etc. NO ONE and I repeat NO ONE should JUDGE another person, EVER!! First of all, I am a mother and have two boys around this age. Second of all, I am a recovering addict. And third, I TRY to look at the full spectrum of things. I think it sucks that if you are on drugs or are an alcoholic, you DESERVE what you get. He needed help! If someone had a diabetic seizure and passed out at the wheel because they didn’t take their medication and killed someone, would they be scrutinized? Absolutely not. I hurt for this poor boy. It’s a tragedy – for ALL INVOLVED!! Being a mom, I feel for his parents, NOT BECAUSE HE HADN’T FOUND HELP AND FOR BEING AN ADDICT, but for THE LOSS OF HIS LIFE! I feel for his brothers and the rest of the family. On the other hand, the tables were turned in this scenario, however, I FEEL FOR THE POOR TRUCK DRIVER that didn’t feel his truck running over this child. His life will never be the same. What I’m saying is, is that ALL PARTIES INVOLVED in these tragedies are changed forever. Does the boy with an addiction problem deserve to die because he had a disease? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!! Does someone deserve to die because they were impaired and took a life? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!! Did they make a horrific mistake, one that could have been avoided? DEFINITELY!!!! Does someone who is a repeat offender and doesn’t learn from their mistakes deserve jail time, ABSOLUTELY, a lot of it! Hopefully, they will live and change their life and help others. IT IS A TRAGEDY for anyone to lose their life or to take a life, unexpectedly. People DO say awful things and judge others and if you don’t know it by now, you will learn that carma is a bitch and it WILL bite you in the ass in the most unexpected ways…CLOSE TO HOME!
What a fucking dumbass!! These people have some nerve to defend a drunk driver. Just cause he was a star,if you wanna call him that, doesn’t mean you can drink&drive. He did wrong,& died. Plain & simple