I awoke this morning to the news that Ryan Dunn of Jackass fame lost control of his vehicle early this morning. The traffic collision claimed the lives of both Dunn and his as-yet-unidentified passenger. Dunn posted a picture of himself and two other men drinking just after midnight, and just under two and a half hours before the traffic collision.
Police are still investigating the collision, and alcohol and high speed are suspected factors.
While the full investigation will likely take some time, the preliminary facts are indisputable:
Mr. Dunn and his companion were in his 2007 Porsche 911 around 0230 on the morning of June 20th, 2011. At 0238, the West Goshen Township Police Department received a report of a traffic collision near Route 322 and Pottsdown Pike. The first arriving officer found a fully involved vehicle occupied by two deceased adults.
Mr. Dunn had been at Barnaby's of America, a West Chester, PA bar, prior to the collision. A picture of him with two other men was posted to his Tumblr account at around 1215.
Now, with those facts in mind, the following is PURELY SPECULATIVE. Traffic collisions at that hour are frequently the result of impairment, either from operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs or lack of sleep. The fact that he was at a bar is significant circumstantial evidence that alcohol use (not necessarily impairment) is possible. The degree of damage to the vehicle suggests that high speed was also a factor in this collision. The scene of the wreck is approximately one mile from the bar. It seems to be reasonable to speculate that Mr. Dunn's death, and that of the other occupant of the vehicle, resulted from driving under the influence.
If that proves to be the case, this incident is a highly tragic and entirely preventable end to two young lives. To that end, please consider the following video:
Traumatic License - a peek inside the crazy world of pre-hospital medicine in Fairview, USA
Like you said, that time of morning and a solo vehicle collision equals impairment. I'll be conservative and say 95% of the time. I'm conflicted about the "tragedy" of these situations, though. It may sound callous, but we all know that kind of behavior is dangerous and self-destructive. This guy made a living doing things that are both dangerous and self-destructive. How surprised should I be?
ReplyDeleteI think the tragedy here is that he took someone else - albeit a willing participant - with him. Word on the street is that his BAC was .196, making him a deuce-and-a-half deuce. The speed estimate is 132-140 miles per hour.
ReplyDeleteAt that level of intoxication, the bar staff stated that he didn't appear impaired. They're either a) morons b) used to seeing him that drunk and failed to recognize his lack of sobriety c) playing a little game of CYA
I wonder if it would change the public's perception of these kind of incidents if they were labeled as murder-suicides...