10 Worst Celebrity Car Accidents

Bill Allen | November 17, 2021 | Car Accidents

There are around 6 million car accidents in the U.S. every year. Over 3 million of these accidents result in injuries. Around 31,000 of these accidents result in deaths.

Celebrities are not immune to the consequences of car accidents. Many famous people have died in car accidents, including military leaders, artists, performers, and even royalty.

Here are ten of the worst celebrity car accidents and the lessons they can teach.

Royalty

Princess Diana died in a car accident in 1997. She was in Paris with her billionaire companion, Dodi Fayed, when she was spotted by paparazzi. Photographers chased her car into a tunnel where her driver swerved across traffic and hit a pillar.

Princess Diana, Fayed, and the driver died. A bodyguard survived. An investigation revealed that the driver had alcohol and antidepressant drugs in his system when he crashed.

Fifteen years earlier, Princess Grace of Monaco also died in a car crash. She lost control of her vehicle when she had a stroke. Her car plummeted down a cliff. She suffered a brain injury and died one day later.

Military Leaders

General George S. Patton led the U.S. Seventh Army against German forces in World War II. Four months after the war ended, Patton broke his neck in a car accident. 

Patton’s driver was speeding when he collided with a truck turning left across the path of Patton’s car. He died from his injuries.

T.E. Lawrence, the real Lawrence of Arabia, fought in the Middle East during World War I. In 1935, he was riding his motorcycle when he swerved around two children in the road. He crashed and sustained a brain injury. He died six days after his motorcycle accident.

Artists and Writers

Jackson Pollock was well-known for his abstract expressionist paintings. He died in 1956 after he collided with a tree while driving drunk.

Albert Camus won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1957. The author died in a car accident in 1960. The car he was riding in malfunctioned and swerved from the road into a tree.

Performers

James Dean, Paul Walker, and Ryan Dunn all died in car crashes caused by speeding.

James Dean was on his way to race his car when a car turned left in front of him. He hit the car and died at the scene.

The other driver bore some fault for turning left across Dean’s lane. But Dean had been pulled over earlier in the same trip for speeding, and witnesses said he was speeding at the time of the accident.

Paul Walker, famous for his roles in The Fast and The Furious movies, was killed in a single-vehicle accident. His friend was driving between 80 and 90 miles per hour when he hit a concrete barrier. Both Walker and his friend died in the crash.

Ryan Dunn, known for his role on MTV’s Jackass, was also killed in a single-vehicle accident. He was driving 130 miles per hour when his car left the roadway and flew into a ravine. The car hit a tree, killing Dunn and his passenger.

Another performer who died in a car collision was Sam Kinison, a famous stand-up comedian and actor. Kinison had a history of drug and alcohol abuse. But he was sober when he died in a two-vehicle crash on his way to perform in Laughlin, Nevada. The other driver was underage and drunk. He crossed into oncoming traffic and hit Kinison’s vehicle head-on.

Lessons From Celebrity Car Accidents

Despite the fame of their victims, these car accidents were fairly ordinary. The most common causes of car accidents in the U.S. include distracted driving, intoxicated driving, and speeding.

You cannot always avoid a traffic accident. But if you slow down and drive sober, you may reduce the odds of having your worst accident.

Contact Our Car Accident Law Firm in North Central Florida

If you need legal assistance, contact the Ocala car accident lawyers at Allen Law Firm at your nearest location to schedule a free consultation today.
We have two convenient locations in North Central Florida:

Allen Law Firm, P.A. – Gainesville office
2550 SW 76th St #150
Gainesville, FL 32608
(877) 255-3652

Allen Law Firm, P.A. – Ocala Office
112 S Pine Ave
Ocala, FL 34471
(352) 351-3258