‘Jackass’ Star Ryan Dunn had a blood alcohol level of 0.196 at the time of the Monday morning crash that killed himself and passenger Zachary Hartwell, according to a toxicology report released today by the West Goshen Township Police. The legal limit in Pennsylvania is 0.08. Dunn’s Porsche may have been traveling at speeds up to 140 mph when it jumped a guardrail, flew into a wooded ravine, hit a tree, and burst into flames.
Dunn and Hartwell had been drinking at the West Chester Bar Barnaby’s of America shortly before the crash. Frank Harron, the bar’s general manager, said that employees at the bar reported that Dunn was not visibly intoxicated at any point during the night and that surveillance videos support their observations.
Fellow injury board bloggers have already blogged about the accident and the comments made by Roger Ebert. In a controversial post on Twitter, Ebert twittered “Friends don’t let jackasses drive drunk.” At the time of the tweet, this was purely speculation on Ebert’s part. Unfortunately, the speculation has turned out to be true.
Ebert has stood by his tweet that drinking and driving is wrong and could kill others who are acting responsibility. His tweet has outraged many, with some reporting his Facebook and Twitter account to administrators. For a short time, Ebert’s Facebook page was temporarily taken offline. The fierce online debate between Dunn’s closest friends and Ebert and the surrounding controversy has certainly raised awareness to the deadly perils of drunken driving.
Our sympathies go out to the families of Dunn and Hartwell.
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