Instead of paying for a cab ride home, Jackass star Ryan Dunn killed himself and his passenger, Zachary Hartwell, endangering everyone on the road the night of June 20 by driving drunk.
I’ve read all the angry tweets this past week about how Ryan Dunn deserves no sympathy, how disgusting drinking and driving is, and some even suggesting he deserved to die.
It’s easy to say you would never drink and drive, but is that the only way to be an irresponsible driver?
What if it was you behind the wheel, quickly checking a text message, a BBM, or answering a phone call and, in a flash, you drove your car off the road?
The more you distance yourself from those “bad people” who drink and drive, the less you realize it could be anyone on the road who can make one bad decision and have the same result.
Eighteen-year-old Pembroke resident Damon Souliere died late May on his way home because he was texting and driving.
He was the captain of his high school rugby team, a member of the Canadian Forces Reserves, and he was planning to study criminal psychology at Carleton.
From texting and driving to drinking and driving, or talking without a hands-free device, each of these are decisions that could affect one’s life, not to mention those of their passengers, and everyone else on the road.
Being angry about drunk driving is not going to solve the fact that people still do these things and that mistakes happen.
Dunn’s death is no one’s fault but his own, but he is not the first, the last, or the only.
Instead of making Dunn out to be a villain, we should use this as an opportunity to educate people about the consequences of being impaired or distracted while driving.
Who knows how many times Dunn drove after drinking and no one said anything?
His passenger and friend, Hartwell, who was also killed in the crash, willingly got into his car and let Dunn drive.
Think about it the next time you go out to a bar, have a party, or your friend is texting while behind the wheel, even if it’s at a red light.
Say something, because if you don’t say something now, you’ll need to have a much worse conversation later.
Johnny Knoxville, one of Dunn’s close friends and Jackass co-stars wrote on his blog about having to tell his own children about the accident.
“I’m becoming upset now because this isn’t right, [god damn it]. Ryan, I had to go wake up Madison and tell her you were gone. Do you know how hard that was?!! She loved you so much and I know you loved her, so why, buddy?”
Impaired and distracted driving doesn’t just affect the people in the accident, it can also take a toll on the families and friends of everyone involved, on both sides of the situation.
Both families lost a son, a friend, and a significant other.
Let’s not let Dunn be remembered as a bad guy.
Just because someone made a mistake that caused their death, and in this case, someone else’s, doesn’t mean that it should stop the families from remembering the good people they knew.
One mistake should never completely overshadow the good someone did in their life, even if a lot of it involved getting hit below the waist on camera.
Dunn made many people laugh during his lifetime.
If we can remember the good along with the bad, maybe we can learn something from this.
Anger doesn’t solve anything, but the small action of speaking up can prevent a future tragedy.
So, the next time one of your friends picks up their cell phone while behind the wheel, don’t forget to say something.
—Natasha Mendonca is a third year journalism student who says Ryan Dunn’s untimely death can teach us all a lesson about irresponsible driving.
