‘Jackass’ star Ryan Dunn’s high-speed car crash raises questions about drinking and driving
“Jackass” star Ryan Dunn’s death in a fiery crash when his Porsche ran into a forested area at high speed raised questions as to whether alcohol was involved. Though the toxicology results may not be released for weeks, Dunn apparently tweeted a photo of himself having a beer with friends shortly before he and passenger Zachary Hartwell died. Film critic Roger Ebert soon tweeted, “Friends don’t let jackasses drink and drive,” which drew nasty responses from fans and friends.
It’s a sad story, and one that is all too common. Though it’s not yet known whether Dunn was impaired, a 2009 study published in the journal Alcohol & Alcoholism analyzed news stories on Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie and other infamous female drunk-driving offenders and found that media coverage may promote the lifestyle and ignore the consequences of young celebrities’ DUIs.
“The newsworthiness of paltry legal consequences for the celebrities may reduce any deterrent value of coverage that routinely included glamorous images of the celebrities while essentially ignoring the potential injurious consequences of her drinking and driving,” the authors write.
Positive associations with celebrity aside, it’s already difficult to fight drinking and driving. A 2000 study in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research found that having DWI (drinking while impaired) offenders attend a victim-impact panel -- a panel of people who were seriously hurt or whose loved ones were killed in a DWI-caused crash -- had relatively little effect on re-offenders.
That’s a scary thought, given that a 2010 report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that one in five people age 16 or older has gotten behind the wheel within two hours of drinking.
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