Shortly after the sad news broke that “Jackass” star Ryan Dunn had been killed in a catastrophic car accident early Monday morning in Pennsylvania, the web took notice of his Twitter feed, to which he posted a photo of himself drinking with friends just hours before the crash.
While the police report did not indicate that drinking was a factor in the horrific crash — speed, the report said, may have been a contributor — movie critic and prolific twitterer Roger Ebert sent out a critical message that some are calling insensitive.
“Friends don’t let jackasses drink and drive,” he tweeted around 3 pm EST. The message was met with a barrage of push back, including from blogger Perez Hilton’s site.
“We certainly agree that driving after drinking is wrong, we think there’s no reason – especially RIGHT NOW – that anyone should be pointing fingers or poking fun at a truly tragic situation,” the site wrote. “Everyone makes mistake, and this is somebody’s son. Too soon, Roger.”
“Jackass” star Ryan Dunn, who along with his cast mates made Americans cringe and snicker through vulgar stunts in their multimillion-dollar TV and movie franchise, was killed early Monday in a fiery car crash. He was 34.
Dunn, a daredevil who gained notoriety for diving into a sewage tank and performing other unsavory stunts, was driving his 2007 Porsche in suburban Philadelphia when it careened off the road, flipped over a guardrail and crashed into the woods before bursting into flames. A passenger, Zachary Hartwell, 30, of West Chester, Pa., was also killed, and speed may have been a factor in the crash, West Goshen Township police said.
The force of impact shattered the vehicle into several twisted and blackened pieces, leaving the Porsche 911 GT3 unrecognizable except for a door that was thrown from the crash and not incinerated. A 100-foot-long tire skid marked where the car left the roadway.
Both Dunn and Hartwell were severely burned. Police said they were able to identify Dunn through his tattoos and hair.
Dunn appeared on MTV shows “Jackass” and “Viva La Bam” and the three “Jackass” big-screen adaptations. He also was the star of his own MTV show, “Homewrecker,” and just began hosting the show “Proving Ground” on the G4 cable network.
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