Quote Originally Posted by Lyle1 View Post
The local police spokesman said that Dunn was traveling at over 130 miles per hour when he crashed. The spokesman also said that he had never seen a car so totally destroyed in an accident; the car literally came apart before it burned.
That is true. The newspapers published this photo, and I don't think I've ever seen anything like this in my life either. It's pretty incredible.



Unfortunately, as much as this may (or should) be a cautionary tale, I'm afraid that it will always be a problem everywhere. Even here in Japan were there is ZERO tolerance -- i.e. a swig of mouthwash puts you over the limit, people get caught every day. The consequences in this country are pretty dire. You are fined $5000 (minimum), and because it's a criminal act, you will automatically lose your job and right to benefits. And good luck getting a new one. Even if reputation DIDN'T precede you (and here it really does), people usually work in the same place for life -- changing jobs is unusual, viewed with suspicion, and most employers simply do not hire anyone who doesn't go through the traditional, mass-induction system with each annual batch of college grads (in other words, you gotta be young, fresh out of school).

We had a school district superintendent get nabbed a few years ago. He was out on his ear in a New York minute! And last year, two city employees (in our city) got caught -- they were fired a month before their retirement and as a result, lost their entire pensions! Fair? Not particularly. But just goes to show you that no matter how harsh you make the penalties, and even in a zero tolerance area, it is still a serious, daily problem.

Condolences to the Dunn family, though. Jackass fan or not, something like this is a horrible way to go, and very regrettable.

At the same time, I sincerely hope Dunn's friends who were at the party and saw how much Dunn drank before stepping behind the wheel of a car eventually see the take-away from this. Nothing would make me happier than to see them become activists, teaching others how to stop one's friends from drinking and driving.