I am increasingly heartbroken about the death of Ryan Dunn. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.
Of course, with each new detail about the precise circumstances of his fatal car wreck—which also killed his passenger, Zach Hartwell—it can be harder and harder for some of us to sympathize, especially for those who have lost a loved one to somebody else’s senselessness. That’s real; those angry feelings are valid.
Still, when I see headlines like Bam Margera Collapses at Scene of Crash, I can’t help but feel just a tiny, tiny part of somebody else’s grief.
On Monday, Emily showed you Johnny Knoxville’s moving eulogy to Ryan Dunn. Now, Bam Margera—who had a mini-meltdown on Twitter when Roger Ebert insinuated Dunn could’ve picked better friends—has some words for E! Online:
What astonishes Margera even more was that this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.
“He flipped me in a car eight times at the same exact spot in 1996. Thank God I had my seat belt on, because Chris Raab put one on me, but my brother didn’t have one on. He flew 40 feet. Thank God he’s alive. But like, Dunn was always a maniac at driving,” he said.
Bam pulled out his cell phone and read aloud the last conversation he had with Dunn via text messages.
“Stopping for a beer, be there when I can,” was the last message sent from Dunn the night his accident occurred.
This exchange didn’t make it into E!’s transcript of the interview, but it’s in the video:
Interviewer: If there was a way to go back to the morning of that night, what would you say to Ryan?
Margera: I’d say, “Give me your Goddamn keys, you idiot.”
Interviewer: If you were at the bar that night?
Margera: Yeah, I’d say “Gimme your Goddamn keys.” …He probably wouldn’t have listened to me.
In the video, Bam Margera sounds awful. I mean, like, obviously not all-there, and also in a lot of denial, which is as natural a reaction to death as any, I guess.
Look. I know it’s tiresome to get preached at by some weird lady with a laptop and eyeglasses, and I know turning tragedy into a pulpit is tacky, and I know you’ve heard all this backward and sideways, but feel me on this: Be as stupid as you want. I don’t care. Wear your beer in a holster. Smoke a cigarette with your ear. Go planking. Hook your nipple piercings to a battery. Set your farts on fire. Bellyflop into a kiddie pool full of splooge. Hammer nails into your nostril, and be the big, bold circus freak that you are.
But be choosy with Stupid. The instant you manage to off yourself, or worse, somebody else—that is, if you lay waste to so many people and leave this kind of emotional wreckage—you have fucked up, royally and undeniably, and you have fucked up your loved ones forever in a way no one can undo.
“and you have fucked up your loved ones forever in a way no one can undo.” Thank you for pointing that out. Too few people think about that when they need to. I know a lot of people are going to say “oh, but he wasn’t thinking”, but you know what? If you’re someone who is prone to do stupid things, it should be tattooed on the back of your fucking hand. You should tape a picture of your mom and dad being told some bad news front and center on your dashboard. It takes one tiny second for you to die. The people you love are going to suffer with it every single second for the rest of their lives, and that is not fucking fair.
I mourn those who contribute to the community, those who do good works. Not this jerkoff. I feel sorry for the family members but excuse the flock out of me….this knuckle head was acting like a dick every time he got behind the wheel (if the stories are correct). Anybody who got in the car with him was either an idiot or had a deathwish. The good thing is that he only murdered his passenger….what if he had crashed into a van with a family returning home from vacation or something? I don’t care much if idiots kill themselves….just don’t take any innocents with you. Jeez….when will this horseshit get off the gossip sites. Move on.
what st.louis chick said. lets move on shall we.
Bam also said that Ryan drove a Porsche with a Lamborghini engine, hooked up to nitrous. I somehow forgot that part.
The only thing I’m sorry about is that he killed someone else. Otherwise, screw that idiot Ryan.
What i think about all these comments is that they watched the movie they liked the stupidness and yet they have to talk shit about the dead,really ppl yea know something dont judge a book by its cover.Oh another thing maybe the other guy in the car was drunk to but still something happend to make him do this.
Fuck ryan dunn and his selfish shit ways. What an asshole. He doesnt deserve to r.i.p.- he ruined countless people’s lives that were close to him and and the VETERAN he killed.
His car was a custom Porsche 911 gt3. Not a lamborghini engine. Nor did it have nitrous. It was very fast though
R.I.P. Mr. Dunn.. Checking out some old school videos.. These pricks have know clue the life of young bucks like us lived in.. I’m from Orange, County, CA. and the faster the car, the more chicks you get.. Sad to say it caused you demise…. May you R.I.P. and may you show the heavens the true meaning of laughter..