The Jackass family was never the same after the death of Ryan Dunn, who died aged 34 in
a devastating car crash.
His life til then was an inspiration, but it was also filled with trouble, and signs
of the tragedy to come.
Born in 1977, Ryan Dunn moved multiple times over the course of his childhood.
He began his life in Ohio, went to New York, and finally ended up in Pennsylvania.
It was there that Dunn attended high school and met Bam Margera.
The two became fast friends and remained close throughout Dunn's life.
Soon after graduation, Dunn snagged his first acting role, playing a soldier in the 1996
sci-fi movie "Lifeform."
However, it wasn't until 1999 that he began to do what made him famous.
That's when he began working with Margera on the "CKY" videos that would become the
foundation out of which "Jackass" grew.
"Jackass" itself arrived on MTV in 2000, and Dunn was there from the start.
He appeared in all 25 episodes of the series and then went on to do stunts in "Jackass:
The Movie," "Jackass Number Two," and "Jackass 3D."
He appeared in other projects with members of the Jackass crew, including Steve-O and,
most prominently, his friend Bam Margera.
He acted as well, but not as often and typically in small or independent projects that got
less attention than his "Jackass" work.
In 2005, police pulled over Dunn while he was operating a motor vehicle.
They deduced his level of intoxication at the scene, and eventually, the town charged
him with a DUI.
In his late 20s at the time, this was his first recorded incident of driving under the
effects of a substance.
Given that, the court determined Dunn was an appropriate candidate for the first-time
offender's program, an opportunity which he pursued.
This pre-trial diversion program would typically allow a motorist facing charges to avoid jail
time, receive reduced license suspension time, or have the charges eliminated entirely and
eventually have their record cleared.
Dunn completed the program as prescribed.
He still did have his license suspended for over a year, which is around the standard
for a first time DUI offense in Pennsylvania.
However, the offenders' program ensured the charges against him were dropped after he
completed the probationary period.
In addition to his 2005 DUI, Ryan Dunn had quite a few problems when it came to sitting
behind the wheel.
As noted in a Philadelphia Inquirer piece from 2011, the stunt performer had a reputation
when it came to driving.
"Pulled over."
"How fast?"
"167, was it?"
The "Jackass" star was known for loving speed and adrenaline while in a car and had a tendency
to be relaxed about safety.
In "Jackass" and participating in Gumball 3000 events — international races that took
place on public roads and frequently attracted celebrity participants — he found lucrative
and somewhat approved ways to express himself.
Unfortunately, he often didn't turn off the need for speed when it came to getting around
in his day-to-day life.
This approach to driving didn't escape law enforcement's notice.
In the 13 years from 1998 to 2011, Dunn wracked up 23 violations.
Three of those times, he was pulled over and charged for driving with a suspended license,
and 10 stops earned him tickets for speeding and reckless driving.
After Dunn's death, Bam Margera's mother, April, recalled constantly warning him about
his driving habits.
"He drove too fast.
I yelled at him all the time about that."
In the closing stunt of "Jackass Number Two," the plan was for a horse to pull Ryan Dunn
and Bam Margera off their feet and then out of view.
Visually, the scene went as planned, but the physical consequences for Dunn were anything but routine.
When Dunn went to the ground, he landed on his shoulder.
His muscles in that area took the full force of the impact, an immediately painful consequence.
However, the repercussions of the fall proved worse than the typical kinds of bruises and
breaks the Jackass gang had grown to accept.
The damage from the fall was serious enough to cause a blood clot, which was potentially life-threatening.
As "Jackass Number Two" director Jeff Tremaine explained in an MTV tribute to Dunn, the damage
was much more serious and lasting than it may have looked on screen.
"A blood clot is really dangerous because if a chunk of that went into his heart or
his brain, he would die."
In the same MTV tribute, friend Cameron Taylor said Dunn was actually quite frightened, explaining
he'd "never seen a man more scared" and that Dunn could've died "at any minute."
Fortunately, Dunn received treatment that saved his life, but things were about to get
even worse for the stuntman.
The hits kept coming for Dunn.
While receiving treatment for his blood clot, Dunn was diagnosed with Lyme disease.
In an interview with Film Threat in 2010, Dunn confirmed the diagnosis and his recovery,
although he didn't offer any insight into when or where he came into contact with the
infected tick that passed him the virus.
While his treatment for Lyme proved successful, the combination of the blood clot, the disease,
and the long recovery process seemed to add up.
In the same interview where he revealed his history with Lyme, Dunn attempted to downplay
it as just taking a break after 10 years of work.
Subsequent publications, however, have confirmed depression was an ongoing struggle for the
actor and stunt performer.
In fact, he slipped into such a significant depression that he cut himself off from contact
with many of his friends, including the Jackass crew, for two years.
Despite the way it came about, the hiatus from performing seemed to do Dunn some good.
He returned to the world of reckless and hilarious stunts in "Jackass 3D" and appeared happy
to be back.
He referred to the experience as his favorite on-screen work.
Experiencing early apprehension about returning only to find the same camaraderie he always
had with the team came as a relief and led to the most fun he had making a "Jackass" film.
He booked three acting jobs in the same year, and also produced his first film, "Living
Will," in which he was also cast as the lead role.
"I'm eating everything I can until I poop."
He even struck off on his own to co-host a show on G4 with Jessica Chobot, his first
prominent TV work without any members of the Jackass crew.
The show, "Proving Ground," involved attempting to replicate pop culture experiences in real life.
For instance, an early episode tried to realize the Mario Kart experience.
Given Dunn's established stunt bona fides and his prominent place in pop culture, it
seemed a promising fit.
For the first time in years, Dunn's career prospects seemed on-track.
On June 19, 2011, Dunn was back in his hometown and celebrating.
Joining him for a night on the town was Zachary Hartwell, a longtime friend who also worked
as a production assistant on "Jackass Number Two."
Sometime around 2:30 the next morning, the two decided to call it quits.
But as Dunn was driving — with Hartwell in the car — he soon hit speeds in excess
of 130 mph in his Porsche 911 GT3.
He seemingly lost control of the vehicle at some point and collided violently with a tree.
Upon collision, the car caught fire, and both he and Hartwell were killed in the accident.
The cause of death was attributed to a combination of the impact and the subsequent fire.
In addition to the fact that he was coming from a bar and that several social media posts
showed him drinking, a toxicology report confirmed Dunn's intoxication at the time of the crash
with a blood alcohol level around twice the legal limit.
Zachary Hartwell had known Ryan Dunn and Bam Margera for several years.
In addition to PA-ing on "Jackass Number Two," he'd done stunt driving on the film "Minghags,"
which was written and directed by Margera and starred Margera and Dunn.
Additionally, Hartwell was an Iraq War vet.
He served two tours overseas as a Navy gunner before returning to America.
In 2010, Hartwell married Rachel, his high school sweetheart.
They were married less than a year when Hartwell died in the car crash.
In August 2012, Hartwell's parents went to court seeking damages.
They named Dunn's estate — as well as Barnaby's, the bar where Dunn was drinking — as defendants
in the suit.
In addition to wrongful death, the lawsuit alleged the parties behaved negligently and
recklessly and that those actions led to the death of their son.
Despite the tragic consequences of his actions, Dunn's death left many bereft.
After all, the man was beloved by many — both people in his personal life and those who
followed his adventures on the screen.
As a result, fans and friends met the news of his death with an outpouring of social media posts.
Musical artists like Kings of Leon and Skrillex dedicated songs from their concerts to Dunn's
memory in the days after his demise.
Singer-songwriter Roger Alan Wade even wrote an original piece for him, which played at
Dunn's memorial service in a special tribute video.
In 2013, the film "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" hit theaters everywhere.
It was the first big-screen project from the Jackass crew since 2011, and Dunn's co-workers
and friends dedicated the project to their late friend.
In commemorative and anniversary releases, the group has continued to feature Dunn in
archival footage, and despite his tragic passing, the man's legend still lives on through his
crazy work in the world of "Jackass."