Trivia 8:
The Curse of James Dean's Car



On his way to Salinas, CA, movie star James Dean was driving 80 mph when he was killed in a head-on collision. Investigators were puzzled by evidence that suggested that Dean, who was an expert driver, had done nothing to avoid the crash. But that's not the end of the story:

Fans who flocked to the grisly scene were injured as they tried to remove pieces of the wreckage.

A garage mechanic, hired to restore the sports car, broke both his legs when it fell on him.

After they had bought parts from the car and installed them in their own race cars, one doctor was killed and another seriously injured.

The two undamaged tires were sold to a man who had to be hospitalized after they both blew out at the same time.

The California Highway Patrol planned to use the remains of the car in an auto show, but the night before the show opened, a fire broke out, destroying every vehicle except Dean's car, which escaped unscathed.

The car was once again bound for Salinas when the driver lost control of the truck that was carrying it. The driver was killed instantly, and Dean's car rolled off the truck.

The next effort to display the car also ended in calamity, when the car, which had been welded back together, inexplicably broke into eleven pieces.

The Florida police arranged to take the car for a safety display, but after the pieces of the car were crated and loaded onto a truck, the car disappeared, never to be seen again.



Home