A devastating incident took place in 2011, and still to date, people can’t stop talking about it. The unfortunate death of Ryan Dunn, the American stunt performer, actor, and performer met with a tragic accident. The stunt performer’s ironic death resulted from a car collision.
Ryan Dunn is known for his performance on the MTV reality show and film series Jackass. He was known for pulling extreme stunts and wild pranks on his friends and was never afraid to put his life on the edge. Despite being smart and funny, Dunn’s career started in an unorthodox way and a tragic accident took his life.
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How Did Ryan Dunn Die?
Life is unpredictable and funny how it works. Just when Ryan Dunn was at the peak of his career, he lost his life in a tragic accident. Dunn was returning back to the Jackass franchise, reuniting with his crew and production team, and the fans were excited to see his stunts. But on 20 June 2011 tragedy struck. As reported by Ryan Dunn and Zachary Hartwell were returning from a West Chester bar in the middle of the night and were racing at the speed of about 130 mph. Apparently, the car lost control, crashed, and blazed on fire, killing Dunn and Hartwell.
Jackass co-stars were heartbroken by this tragic news, and were shocked that Ryan Dunn’s blood alcohol level was way above the legal limit at the time of the crash. Meanwhile, Bam Margera, Dunn’s friend gave an interview that year describing his reaction to the news of Dunn’s passing saying, “I was in Arizona when I heard. I was with some friends having the best time ever and… at 12.30 I just started punching out the windows of the rental van and ripping out the speakers. I wasn’t mad at anything or anybody. And if it was 12.30 there that means it was exactly when he crashed. He was the happiest person ever. The smartest guy. So much talent and he had so many things going for him. It’s just not right. It’s not right.”
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Ryan Dunn’s Wrongful Death lawsuit
According to Reuters, the family of Dunn’s friend Zachary Hartwell has filed a wrongful death lawsuit over the accident. The lawsuit alleges that the MTV star was drunk during the accident. In the report filed, the lawsuit names Ryan Dunn and the establishment where he was drinking before the accident took place. The lawsuit claimed that the establishment was ignorant because they kept serving him alcohol after he was already intoxicated. It also alleges that Dunn was careless since he was drunk driving and was driving at such a high speed at the time of the crash.
Zachary Hartwell’s parents sought to recover from Dunn’s estate for the following, the costs of their son’s funeral, earnings due for his behind-the-scenes and stunt work on various Jackass projects, the projected loss of income from his sudden death, pain & suffering, and other damages, but the family did not specify an amount. But as of 2023, it is murky what the resolution of this lawsuit was.
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