james dean car crash Page 8821

James Dean died on 30 September 1955 when his Porsche 550 Spyder, nicknamed “Little Bastard,” collided with a Ford Tudor at the junction of Route 466 and 41 near Cholame, California. He was 24, on his way to a race at Salinas, with Porsche mechanic Rolf Wütherich riding shotgun; Wütherich survived, Dean did not. The other driver, Donald Turnupseed, turned left across Dean’s path; the lightweight Spyder came off second best, as you’d expect when aluminium meets Detroit steel. Contrary to the pub myths, speed plus bad luck and poor visibility did the damage—no supernatural curses required. The wreck later toured as a grim curiosity, which tells you everything about human nature and nothing new about physics.