Ryan Dunn Was Over Twice The Legal Limit

19 Comments

1. 1
   JudgyWudgy
   Posted June 22, 2011 at 3:16 pm

   Forgive me for my insensitivity (although I’m a little more at ease with it knowing that his drunken driving could have killed someone innocent), but isn’t anyone else surprised that more of these Jackass guys haven’t died and sooner?

2. 2
   mcweanis
   Posted June 22, 2011 at 4:50 pm

   he did kill someone innocent, his passenger.
   but yes, this is an epic act of jackassery.

3. 3
   juddfan
   Posted June 22, 2011 at 8:45 pm

   wow. I can’t equate how drunk that is . . . but OMG!!! These people can afford a driver, or handler, or cab-or DD . . . it’s terrible. I heard he had six drinks, 3 shots and 3 beers . . . anyone know if that equals that .196?

4. 4
   Fan-Ann
   Posted June 22, 2011 at 9:01 pm

   His family and friends are grieving now. But I hope they will try to use his loss to save lives. As a mother of sons I can’t count how many times I have heard kids laughing about some of the Jackass stunts, and marveling at how those guys always walk away afterwards. But not this time; and just maybe a PSA showing some of his stunts and then a shot of that destroyed car will cause someone to give their keys to a friend, or plan for a designated driver.

5. 5
   Betsy Furman
   Posted June 22, 2011 at 9:06 pm

   Oh he had more to drink than what was reported. No one is going to admit how much he really had to drink that night. The fact that he left the bar drunk is enough for a class action law suit. Mum’s the word from here on out. No one stopped him and if they did, he didn’t listen. He thought he was invincible. The lawsuits are coming.

6. 6
   sarcasatire
   Posted June 22, 2011 at 9:15 pm

   Betsy, you’re right. I forgot about that! When I was in bartending school, they told us that if we didn’t cut someone off who was clearly drunk and they hurt themselves, it would be our fault. Actually, our instructor said when he was working in his hometown, he served a local guy who got pretty drunk. The guy left and went alone to his boat, where he disappeared and was found floating hours later. The only thing that saved the bartender from persecution was that the police for an empty liquor bottle on the boat, which indicated he had more to drink after leaving the bar. (It could’ve been an old bottle, but it cast enough doubt on the fault of the bartender so the cops stopped pursuing him.) Scary stuff indeed.

7. 7
   Fan-Ann
   Posted June 22, 2011 at 9:40 pm

   In Texas the Dram Shop Law makes it possible to sue a bar for damages if it can be proved that they served a visibly intoxicated patron who represented a clear and obvious danger to himself or others because of his intoxication. Most states have a version of this law with the notable exception of Nevada where such legislation was fought by the hotel and gaming industry.

8. 8
   melange
   Posted June 22, 2011 at 9:54 pm

   Wow. So, can people stop giving Roger Ebert shit now for calling Dunn a drunk jackass? The guy apparently plowed through *40* trees before he finally ran into one dead on.

9. 9
   juddfan
   Posted June 23, 2011 at 12:07 am

   Well, I guess he went out with a bang. Great comments everyone. That PSA would be a good idea. My neices are so influenced by shows. Eventhough I love me some reality TV . . . I’m not sure they’re in on it.

   If I was a bartender in that postion, I would insist he claimed he had a DD-what’s the point in having one if you can’t drink.

10. 10
    JudgyWudgy
    Posted June 23, 2011 at 7:23 am

    @mcweanis, I thought about the passenger when I was writing that. But by “innocent,” I was thinking more along the lines of a family taking a road trip, etc. Most likely his passenger was either as drunk as he was or well aware of his intoxication. But that’s just my insensitive assumption (which is basically my M.O.)

11. 11
    cattyfan
    Posted June 23, 2011 at 8:01 am

    Given the guy’s behavior and that he made a career out of acting like an idiot, the bartender(s) may not have realized how drunk he was. It’s possible more than one person was serving his table, and (given that he’s a “celebrity”) some folks may have bought and brought him additional drinks. And people who drink heavily on a regular basis (which I’m betting this guy did) are harder to read as drunk.

    As someone pointed out, he could certainly have afforded alternate transportation…but he was drunk and wanted to drive fast. It is an amazingly stupid way to die.

12. 12
    David
    Posted June 23, 2011 at 8:14 am

    Utterly stupid that there is a law which blames a bartender for serving any amount of alcohol to an ADULT! So much for personal responsibility for your actions!

13. 13
    SoSad
    Posted June 23, 2011 at 8:51 am

    @David I completely agree with you, with that being said it’s impossible for a drunk person to think rationally at that point. So in order to protect others from a drunk person’s stupidity I do feel it is necessary for the good of the public for someone else, i.e. the bartender to intervene. I think its more a moral obligation. But I do have a hard time agree with punishing the server for an ADULT’S decision to drink, especially when it can be difficult at times to determine if a person is drunk.

14. 14
    Angela
    Posted June 23, 2011 at 8:54 am

    I have to correct you on the dram shop laws. Yes, an establishment can be held responsible for over-serving someone who then goes out and causes an injury but the law does not apply if the injury is to the over-served person. The passenger’s heirs/family might have a suit, but the Dunns do not.

15. 15
    Fan-Ann
    Posted June 23, 2011 at 9:21 am

    It varies by state. In Texas the over-served drinker’s family can sue. In many states, like New York, only others who have been injured and their families can bring suit. However, with tort reform these cases are much harder to win. So that is probably why only about half of bars carry liquor liability insurance.

16. 16
    Sassygrl72
    Posted June 23, 2011 at 9:33 am

    I see it both ways…a bar is responsible to serve liquor in a responsible way, however, adults should be responsible for how they drink it. Anyway, that argument can go in circles, so all I am going to say is that his passenger was drinking with him, and got in the car too, and allowed a drunk person to drive. He was no more innocent than Ryan Dunn.

17. 17
    cattyfan
    Posted June 23, 2011 at 7:37 pm

    In Illinois anyone injured by the overserved can sue the bar/bartender under the Dram Shop Law. I know this because I was involved in a suit against a (very) drunk driver. We also filed under the Dram Shop law, but dropped it after deciding to pursue the driver only.

18. 18
    Unlikelyprincess
    Posted June 23, 2011 at 7:48 pm

    Juddfan- each drink is approximatey .02 & the average person metabolizes alcohol at approximately .02 per hour. This means that if you drink more than one drink per hour the alcohol will build up in your system. A .19 is 9 drinks above what has already been metabolized so either he had way more than 9 drinks or he had 10 drinks in an hour. BTW, 1 beer 1 measured shot and 1 measured glass of wine are equal.

19. 19
    juddfan
    Posted June 27, 2011 at 12:06 am

    Thanks so much for that, unlikely princess . . . . I’ll be your frog! ; )

    Ugh! Sounds like puke city to me . . . I try to stay on the one an hour train . . . and then, drink spritzers, as I’m a chugger.

    Bitches . . . you know I’m gay, so don’t be judgin’!!! HA!!! I’ve resorted to ordering the elements seperately, I sooooo hate saying “Spritzer and they never f’n know which way to make them . . . .so much verbage . . . sigh . . .