Jackass star Ryan Dunn is dead. Pictures taken and posted to the internet shortly before he got behind the wheel of his Porsche 911 GT3 June, 20th show him enjoying what appears to be a tasty alcoholic beverage with several friends, one of which wound up in Dunn’s passenger seat and died alongside him in the wreck. 

Although alcohol has not yet been confirmed as a contributing factor to the accident, it doesn’t take a Columbo (RIP Peter Falk) to theorize that Dunn went out for drinks with his buddies and then drove his super-Porsche too fast on a rural Pennsylvania road. 

One thing led to another and the next picture that appeared on the internet of Dunn’s last night was a mangled piece of metal being pulled from the trees off the side of the highway that didn’t resemble much of anything, much less an automobile. 

News of Dunn’s untimely demise draws a stark contrast to the more common Hollywood DUI news report, most of which have something to do with a troubled young starlet taking the mystery out of her nether regions by accidentally exposing them to the paparazzi on her way into a low-slung sports car moments before being arrested for DUI and possession of party drugs.

Glittery misters and mistresses of the tinsel town clubbing scene get away with the same sort of deadly gamble that killed Dunn and his friend more often than not. Consider a similar situation to Dunn’s that could have ended just as badly but was swept under the attention-deficit rug of public news for the sake of future popcorn summer blockbusters: 

SHIA LABEOUF

In July of 2008, Labeouf rolled his Ford F-150 after a wild night out on the town. The Huffington Post Reported of his exploits: 

"'He was dancing around and acting really crazy,' the source tells Us. 'He kept doing shots of whiskey.'"

"'He stayed until the band was done and then stumbled out of the club by himself,' the witness reported."

Shortly thereafter LaBeouf attempted to make a left turn in his F-150 and collided with another vehicle, rolling the truck over. His ultra-fine Transformers co-star, Isabel Lucas, 23, was LaBeouf’s passenger when the accident occurred, a source told Us. (1)

“It was immediately apparent to officers responding on the scene that LaBeouf was intoxicated and he was subsequently placed under arrest,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Wolf said. (2)

LaBeouf took the DUI in stride and went on to star in a number of terrible films, painting a damaging misrepresentation of what a DUI entails for the common citizen, not to mention the true evils of driving while intoxicated. 

Why should any of these ramblings mater to you? In Washington State, as in most states, police hand out DUI’s like hotcakes. Bearing that in mind, the average cost of a DUI in the Evergreen State can range from $5,000-$10,000 and beyond. 

That total estimates the cost of a decent lawyer, court fees, an ignition interlock device and horrendous increases in auto insurance and more. 

It doesn’t include the possible loss of employment, a permanent blemish on your record that can effect credit approval, background checks, residency applications, future job applications, not to mention the incalculable cost of the social and emotional repercussions of being royally screwed by what some would characterize as a cash-cow crime of the state. 

A friend of mine who asked to be referred to as Maury, had the disturbingly common misfortune of being charged with a DUI in the state of Washington. He’s gracing my blog as the first person to ever ask me to be interviewed. 

Please continue to Part II to read the conversation. 

RIP Ryan. You were a funny guy.

PART II: http://tinyurl.com/3te5bob

Sources:

(1) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/27/shia-labeouf-dui-arrest-a_n_115205.html
(2) http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/25873653/ns/today-entertainment/t/shia-labeouf-arrested-drunk-driving/
Picture: Arrivealive.com

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