Stars We Lost Behind The Wheel
While we love the freedom and adventure of the open road, cars have also claimed the lives of several famous celebs. Here are a few notables who perished as a result of auto accidents.
James Dean
Everett Collection
The iconic 24-year-old’s life was cut short on Sept. 30, 1955, when he crashed his new Porsche 550 en route to a California auto rally.
Jayne Mansfield
Express Newspapers/Getty Images
The blonde bombshell, her boyfriend and their driver were killed in the early hours of June 29, 1967, when their car struck the rear of a tractor-trailer on a highway near New Orleans. Three of the actress’ children (including Mariska Hargitay) were asleep in the back seat of the car and survived the accident with minor injuries.
Grace Kelly
Everett Collection
On Sept. 13, 1982, the Hollywood star turned princess suffered a stroke while driving, and her car veered off of a cliff. The 52-year-old princess died a day later, and the vehicle’s passenger, 17-year-old Princess Stephanie, suffered multiple injuries including broken ribs, cervical fractures and a shattered collarbone.
Sam Kinison
HBO/Courtesy Everett Collection
The 38-year-old comic was driving to a sold-out performance in Nevada on April 10, 1992, when a truck, driven by a 17-year-old drunk driver, swerved into his lane and struck his car head-on.
General George Patton
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The legendary World War II general was a passenger in a car that collided with an American army truck on Dec. 9, 1945, near Mannheim, Germany. The accident paralyzed the 60-year-old from the neck down, and he died of congestive heart failure 12 days later.
Harry Chapin
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
On July 16, 1981, the folk singer suffered an emergency while driving on the Long Island Expressway. His slow-moving car was hit from behind, causing it to crash and burst into flames. Although Chapin was rescued from the inferno, he died from what was later ruled a heart attack.
Jack Johnson
Topical Press Agency/Getty Images
On June 10, 1946, 68-year-old Johnson, the first African-American world heavyweight boxing champion, was killed after racing his car away from a Raleigh, N.C., diner that refused to serve him.
Dale Earnhardt Sr.
David Taylor/Allsport
The NASCAR racing legend competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 1975 to 2001 winning a total of 7 championships until he died on Feb. 18, 2001 doing what he loved while competing in the Daytona 500.
Leslie Jordan
Pamela Litky/Fox/courtesy Everett Collection
The beloved comedian was on his way to a casting call for the show “Call me Kat’ when the 67 year old had a medical emergency and died slumped behind the wheel of his car in October of 2022
Stars & Cars
April 2018
Rev up your engines for an issue filled with the hottest cars in Hollywood
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