His mechanic Rolf Wutherich, who was in the passenger seat, was flung from the car and sustained serious injured. I find it hard to agree with the statement Turnipseed was at fault. Dean was at the wheel of his sleek silver Porsche Spyder was headed to a sports car race (his fourth) at Salinas Municipal Airport. 24-year-old James Dean was killed when his Porsche 550 Spyder collided when 23-year-old college student Donald Turnupseeds 1950 Ford Tudor Custom coupe as it made a left turn at the junction of State Highways 41 and 46. But that was not the end of the cars story. Parking and walking over to the spot where James Dean died is a dangerous exercise on this remote, but very busy highway. It seems like iremember something about him getting arrested for flying in drugs in a small plane? Donald Trump famously said he borrowed just $1m from his father to get started in business - the NYT says he received more than $400m The day was beginning to fade, and only a black-and-white Ford Tudor car, driven by Donald Turnupseed, a 23-year-old student, was traveling in the opposite direction on 466. Despite reports of Deans speed being around 85 mph, Corp. Nelson estimated that the actual speed was around 55 mph, based on the wreckage and position of Deans body. He was 63. . Resend Activation Email. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. Most people just don't THINK and are either in denial or don't care about living. Donald Turnupseed, a college student, was making his way towards Fresno with no intention of making headlines . 6, Gone Too Soon! James Deans career as an actor and racer was cut tragically short on September 30, 1955, when his Little Bastard Porsche 550 Spyder was involved in a catastrophic collision on the way to a race meeting. . These are the only three such snapshots of the wreck in existence. It was later determined that Donald Turnupseed was at fault, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, but no one was held responsible for the collision. It's just that, if I don't make ahabit of doing it *every* time, I probably wouldn't do it *any* time.Since I've lived most of my adult life in Seattle, it was kind of amoot point anyway. Vanderpump Rules' Tom Says Hes Hated Amid Ariana Split, Raquel Affair, Is Nicki Minaj Shading Megan Thee Stallion? It is likely he did not see Dean's silver Porsche until it was too late, and De. The insurance company, through a salvage yard in Burbank, sold the Spyder to a Dr. William F. Eschrich, a driver who had competed against Dean in his own sports car at three races in 1955. Business was his hobby. Around 5:45 p.m., a black-and-white 1950 Ford Tudor Custom coupe traveling at high speed was headed east on Route 466 just west of the town of Shandon. Photo via Corbis. If I had to guess, that sure looks like a 70-80 mph impact. At the Pomona Sports Car Races on October 21, 1956, Eschrich, driving this car, was involved in a minor scrape with another driver. ON This Day In Photos: September 30, 1955 - James Dean killed in a car crash. No one was injured. The wrecked Spyder was declared a total loss by the insurance company, which paid Deans father, Winton, the fair market value as a settlement. It's a very good idea to get into, especially on a gray day when blue/gray vehicles are very hard to discern. Required fields are marked *. In Touch Weekly has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services. Why this kind of inattentive driving isn't illegal everywhere is beyond me. He did not stop and plowed into the passenger side of Turnipseed's car. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. As Dean and Wutherich drove west on the now-nonexistent Route 466 toward Route 41, near the intersection of present-day Highways 46 and 41 northeast of Paso Robles, Cal Poly student Donald Turnupseed pulled his Ford . To use this feature, use a newer browser. The group then headed north on the Golden State Freeway and then headed out on Interstate 5 (aka the Grapevine) toward Bakersfield. The tragic crash came only nine days after Dean traded in a Porsche Super Speedster for the more . Dean became a cultural icon immediately after his death. A copy is posted here in Woodland at Chubby's Diner with other Dean> memorabilia. -T. Lehrer***~~~~-----------------------------------------------------------------------. The racers road went directly to Blackwells Corner at U.S. Route 466 (later SR 46). Oh, hell, that's not so bad. Bill, the simulation (with narration) is at the URL I posted. He later switched to cattle and agriculture. Baldwin |am quite prepared not only to retract it, but also\ / bal@panix.com|to deny under oath that I ever made it. The car landed in a crumpled heap with Dean still inside. At 3:30 p.m., Dean was stopped by California Highway Patrolman O.V. One shot is of Turnupseed's wrecked Ford Tudor sedan, which collided with Dean's car almost head-on; the other two show the shattered remains of Dean's 1955 Porsche . Seems that retrospectively, Deans death, like his life, can easily get lost in the legend. Highway officials report that 42 deaths occurred on the road during the 45 years after James Deans passing. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. A road sign rises from the median between the converging lanes ominously proclaiming it as James Dean Memorial Junction. Guinness and Moss followed Dean to the restaurant, but before they reached the door, Dean stopped and said, Id like to show you something. Years later, Guinness recalled There in the courtyard of this little restaurant was this little silver thing, very smart, all done up in cellophane with a bunch of roses tied to its bonnet. The young method actor told his new British star, Its just been delivered, said Dean I havent even been in it at all. Guinness thought the car looked sinister. At the end of THE GREEN BERETS, the sun sets into the ocean, which is east of Vietnam, the setting of the film. This evidence consists ofwhere the cars came to rest, and the level of damage they sustained inthe collision. Ernest Tripke and his partner, Corp. Ronald Nelson were called to the scene. It can easily be missed unless you know its there. Turnupseeds car crossed into Deans lane while making a left turn. Part of his remaining allure involves his small town genesis, the curse of his death car and an unexpected connection to the Star Wars franchise. "It was never establishedwhose fault it was. ____ in a ____ zone? Photo from James Dean: On The Road To Salinas, 2015 / Lee Raskin archives. 'Our father was the attorney for Donald Turnupseed. I was in that restaurant and you couldnt get a table. We didnt see him as a big shot from Hollywood, we saw him as a guy trying to steal our dates.. CA Pink Slip) listing the engine number, is still in the possession of the family of the late Dr. Eschrich. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. A car driven by Donald Turnupseed of Tulare, California, a 23-year-old Cal Poly student, turned left in front of Dean's light aluminum Porche Spyder and the two automobiles crashed head-on. Dramatic never-before-seen photographs from the wreckage of James Dean's fatal car crash have been unearthed 64 years after the Hollywood legend's horrific death. ", > A friend of mine bought the (good) driver's side, For the love of corn, deb, I know you're a fan but this man did not, I recall reading that the color of Dean's car was a factor. It appears Bruce brown who I was told was Kurt cobains blood father and Bruce told me kurt was my paternal brother, may have traveled this same highway 46. From 1957 to 1959, the exhibit toured the country in various custom car shows, movie theatres, bowling alleys, and highway safety displays throughout California. from Paso Robles to Fresno to see a girl friend. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? Four days after the crash, Rebel Without a Cause was released. From the location of the vehicles and the damage to thecars, an engineer working for Failure Analysis Inc. calculated thatDean was in fact not speeding at the time the two cars hit. At 5:45 PM on September 30, 1955, Donald Turnupseed was headed east on Route 466 in his 1950 Ford. The car is said to have fallen from its display while on show in Sacramento, breaking the hip of a bystander. In a 1977 interview on BBC television, Guinness recounted a prophetic premonition: Exhausted, hungry, feeling a little ill-tempered in spite of Deans kindness, I heard myself saying in a voice I could hardly recognize as my own, Please, never get in it. Guinness said. Macabre Images of James Dean clowning in the Fairmount Funeral Home. A March 12, 1959 wire service story reported that the deathcar, temporarily stored in a garage at 3158 Hamilton Avenue in Fresno, caught fire awaiting display as a safety exhibit in a coming sports and custom automobile show. The gruesome display was promoted as: James Deans Last Sports Car. Turnupseed was a 23 year old college student at Cal Poly State University when driving eastbound on Route 466 (later renamed Route 46) when attempting to make a left turn onto Route 41, when he collided with Dean's Porsche traveling in the opposite direction, killing him instantly. Just discovered I DO get the National Geographic channel! However, contrary to popular belief, this is not the actual intersection where the accident occurred. Turnupseed received a gashed forehead and bruised nose and was not cited by police for the accident. His body would be taken via ambulance to Paso Robles War memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival by Deputy Coroner Paul E. Werrick. At the time of the crash, Dean had completed one other film, 1956s Giant, which starred Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor. Oh, shucks! The original plan was to tow the high performance car on a trailer behind Deans 1955 Ford woodie style station wagon the actor had purchased just three months before. We won't post to any of your accounts without asking first. (*) I guess it's not a secret anymore . In fact, the new recreation of the crash has determined that Dean's body, which took the full force of the impact, was flung into the passenger seat by the other car in the collision. Wtherich suffered a broken jaw and serious hip and femur injuries, but survived. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. Learn more about managing a memorial . (jalopyjournal.com), (You must log in or sign up to reply here. The car was sold for parts and eventually melted down. See Photos of Your Favorite Stars Going Topless, Lets Go to the Beach! I'm just glad that brake lights come on automatically, or people wouldn'tuse those, either. Both Dean and Turnupseed were pronounced dead at the scene. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. The accident scene is approximately 100 feet to the south of the current intersection, where the road used to be. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. based on information from your browser. These police photos from the scene of the sickening crash illustrate the devastating impact force which killed one of America's biggest on-screen stars. 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Also on display in the museum are an assortment of Abraham Lincoln relics (a lock of his hair, the handles from his coffin, various bloodstained cloth and one of the coins purportedly placed on the dead Presidents eyes) as well as the Bonnie & Clyde, Flintstones, Back to the Future Movie cars and George Barris Batmobile. Deans first races were run in a Porsche 356 Speedster, which he bought in March 1955. However, parts of the original can still be found. Turnupseed made a left turn in front of Dean's car as Dean was approaching an intersection. Cant get much more California than that now can you? The accident probably causedTurnupseed to be more private still, Paggi said. Wtherich, who had been in the passenger seat, was thrown from the Spyder, where he lay barely conscious on the shoulder of the road beside the wrecked vehicle. Go seeit. Wtherich, whose feelings of guilt after the car accident never abated, tried to commit suicide twice during the 1960sand in 1967, he stabbed his wife 14 times with a kitchen knife in a failed. ", Turnupseed was an innovator, including selling clients on preventativemaintenance programs, Nelson said. Sorry! alignment has no stop sign, a straight thru lane to Bakersfield and uses a > left turn lane to Fresno rather than the> original "Y" layout with a stop sign. 131, A charged debate: Battery maintenance tech explained. Where Highway 41 merges into Highway 46, on a barbed-wire fence off the westbound lane, is a small memorial signifying the spot where Deans Porsche skidded to a stop. The truck driver was mostly unharmed, with just a few superficial cuts and bumps. As I remember the Highway 41/46 junction. His death secured a legacy and marketable immortality. It just died. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. > Just to amplyfy my post. The cause of the fire is unknown. . Dean died almost instantly as a result of several injuries, including a broken neck. Look at this 2004 Turbo Cabriolet, and at the Porsche 550 Spyder that actor James Dean was driving in 1955 when his life ended, and a legend began, after crashing into Donald Turnupseed's Ford. But James Dean, America's rebel without a cause, would suffer fatal injuries, including a near decapitation. 'Red Ruby Da Sleeze' Lyrics, 'Teen Mom' Alum Ryan Edwards Has a Long Criminal History: Timeline, Is Kim Zolciak-Biermann's Mansion in Foreclosure? Try again later. You make some good points here. Both Dean and Turnupseed were pronounced dead at the scene. which has been redone several times in the last 50 years. Thanks, Shirley! Failed to delete memorial. The curse of James Deans car has become a part of Americas cultural mythology. By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy. On that fateful Friday, Wtherich sat next to Dean, while Hickman followed with his truck and trailer. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. The. He left Blackwells Corner with Rolf Wtherich, the Porsche mechanic, and sped away, leaving his mates behind. > You said much the same thing here when we discussed this in 1999. As the best I remember at the Highway 41/46 split Turnipseed had the right of way and Dean had an arterial stop sign. In the TV special I saw no mention of the highway redesign. There was an error deleting this problem. See Photos of Joy-Anna Duggars Baby Bump as She Expects Baby No. "Rob Petrie" wrote in message news:y8y%e.5861$oc.@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net> x-no-archive: yes>> "scottla" wrote in message > news:1128163290.@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com >>> I recall reading that the color of Dean's car was a factor. "You've got to stop," James Dean told Weuterich when he saw Ford's maneuver. All Rights Reserved. Dr. Eschrich installed Deans Porsche 4-cam engine in his Lotus IX race car chassis. "You could never get close to Don." Anyone else remember him saying that? Dean and Wtherich weren't as lucky as Turnupseed. Donald Turnupseed, the Tulare man who quietly built a family business and endeavored to maintain his privacy after being involved in the car accident that killed actor James Dean four decades ago, has died at age 63.
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