It looks like the speculation is over surrounding whether or not alcohol played a major part in the Monday morning death of Jackass star Ryan Dunn. The answer, according to West Goshen Police Chief Michael Carroll is a resounding “yes.”
According to Carroll, Dunn’s blood alcohol content was .196 at the time of the crash that killed him and his passenger, Jackass producer Zachary Hartwell. That’s nearly 2 and 1/2 times the legal limit of .08 in the state of Pennsylvania.
Carroll also noted that no other substances were found in Dunn’s bloodstream other than the alcohol.
Not only had Dunn been drinking a substantial amount, but crash analysis has determined that the 34 year old was going upwards of 130 mph in his Porsche before the crash. Dunn has a history of reckless driving, as in the last 13 years he had been cited at least 23 times for careless driving and speeding and driving with a suspended license, among other things.
Dunn’s tragic death has been in the news for a few days now, partly bolstered by the Twitter comments of film critic Roger Ebert. Ebert tweeted just hours after the news broke that “friends don’t let jackasses drink and drive.”
Although he found some supporters for his statement, Ebert was mostly derided by people on the internet for speaking hurtful remarks too soon after the incident. Ebert apologized for the timing of his remarks, but stood by them saying that drinking and driving takes lives, and that he only spoke the truth.
One reason why people were so outraged by Ebert’s comments was that it hadn’t been proven yet if Dunn was in fact drunk. It was simply speculated based on a twitpic of him drinking from the night of the crash. Now that this news has come out, will people rethink their opinion on Ebert’s comments?
@HarveyLevinTMZ
Harvey Levin Police say Ryan Dunn had a BAC more than twice the legal limit! So what do you think of @ebertchicago ‘s comments now? http://t.co/sS6CWEf
43 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto
@splashroy
Roy soooo Roger Ebert was right all along… #ryandunn 11 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto
@MarkReardonKMOX
MarkReardonKMOXI guess @ebertchicago was right. RT @CNNEditorChuck: Ryan Dunn police report is now out…His BAC was .196 at the time of the crash. 14 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto
@tiffanini
Tiffanie Thought they were spot on from the beginning. RT @HarveyLevinTMZ: What do you think of @ebertchicago ‘s comments now? http://t.co/sS6CWEf 38 minutes ago via UberSocial · powered by @socialditto
A BAC of .196 can mean totally different levels of functionality for different people, but it definitely means stay off the road. When you couple pretty drunk with 130+ mph speeds, bad things happen. As horrible as this whole thing is, I guess you can take something out of it – reckless actions have consequences. And however untimely it seemed, what Roger Ebert said was the truth.
Add your condolences to the Ryan Dunn page on FamousDead.com.