- Oh that sound, beautiful.
The engine, it's really kicking in Jimmy.
- Yeah, I'm loving my Little Bastard.
(James Dean cheers)
(car crashing)
- [Narrator] On September 30th, 1955,
actor James Dean was killed
in a brutal two vehicle accident
near Paso Robles, California.
In this episode
we're gonna show you exactly how it happened.
(mechanical instrumental music)
Even though James Dean starred in just three big movies,
the 1950s youth looked up to him as an idol.
His defiant look, messy hair, plain white T-shirt.
This guy was effortlessly cool.
One would never tell he's a dude from the fifties.
Playing the rebel on the big screen
and in real life,
James Dean had a passion
for sports cars and racing. (engine roaring)
On September 21st, 1955,
he bought himself his dream car, Porsche Spyder.
Only five of those German masterpieces existed
in the U.S. at the time.
It came powered by a 110 horsepower
1.5-liter four-cylinder engine,
and did zero to 60 in under seven seconds.
Not that exciting, huh?
But for 1955, the car was savagely fast.
Dean gave his new Porsche a nickname, Little Bastard.
Before long,
the Little Bastard started causing big problems.
Two minor accidents in just one week.
James clearly needed more time getting
to know the vehicle prior to riding it full throttle
in competitions, but his next race was rapidly approaching.
- [Announcer] Top drivers on coast are entering
sports car races in Salinas Airport.
Registration, inspection, and practice rides start
on October 1st, and two 27 lap races will be held
on October 2nd.
- [Narrator] Dean lived in Los Angeles.
The race was in Salinas, right here, 300 miles up the coast.
Normally racers would put their sports cars on trailers
and tow them to the event.
Dean though decided that he could drive 300 miles
behind the wheel of the Little Bastard to prepare himself
and the car for the race weekend.
At around 2:00 PM on Friday, September 30th, 1955,
James Dean and his team filled up their gas tanks
and took off for the race.
A Porsche certified mechanic Rolf Weutherich
was accompanying James in the Little Bastard.
Other teammates were following them
in a station wagon, towing an empty trailer.
At 3:30 PM near Mettler, the caravan got pulled over
by the California Highway Patrol.
Both drivers got tickets for speeding.
At 5:00 PM the team made a short stop
at Blackwells Corner right here.
They met some other drivers, had refreshments,
and from there they took off for their final destination.
The plan was to regroup and have dinner in Paso Robles.
The Little Bastard is cruising at around 60 miles an hour
heading west on Route 466.
Meanwhile, a big and bulky 1950 Ford Tudor is heading east.
A 23 year old Cal Poly student, Donald Turnapseed
is behind Ford's wheel.
He needs to make a left turn on Route 41 at the junction.
Turnapseed slows down before the junction,
checks for traffic, and starts the turn.
And at that very moment, he notices a small car right
in front of him.
- Is this guy gonna let us pass?
Oh, shoot!
Hold on! (James Dean screams)
- Sidestep him Jim! (Rolf screams)
- [Narrator] Dean tries sidestepping Turnapseed
(cars crashing)
but with insufficient time
and space, the two cars collide almost head on.
So how come Turnapseed didn't see Dean earlier?
Well, there were a few reasons.
First and foremost, heading west on Route 466
Turnapseed was driving straight into the sun.
It was 45 minutes till dawn
and the sun was already low on the horizon
creating a strong glare across the Ford's windshield.
Turnapseed was squinting as it was hard
to see what's happening ahead, especially small details.
Speaking about the small details
Porsche Spyder was unusually small compared
to the cars of its era.
Take a look.
Here are some of the more normal 1950s vehicles
like Chevrolet Bel Air, Packard 400, or Ford Tudor.
See how tiny and low to the ground the Spyder appears to be?
The gray color of dean's Porsche is one more thing
that we need to point out.
In the evening lighting, the gray aluminum body
was almost blending with the grayish color of the asphalt.
Add to that the fact that
in the fifties they didn't use headlights
until it was completely dark outside.
Looking through the windshield glare,
Turnapseed just didn't notice the ultra-rare, ultra-small,
and ultra-low Porsche driving at the high rate of speed.
Here's what he probably saw through the windshield.
He approaches the junction, checks for traffic,
starts the turn, notices the car, hits the brakes,
then steers to the right
to avoid the crash. (cars crashing)
But the collision was inevitable at that point
Donald Turnapseed
and Rolf Weutherich would survive the accident.
James Dean would die in the ambulance upon arrival
at the hospital, he was 24 years old.
Contrary to the popular belief, Dean wasn't speeding.
He was moving fast,
but he wasn't above the speed limit of 55 miles per hour.
This fact was proved based
on the wreckage and position of Dean's body.
Just like Paul Walker, whose story we already reviewed,
after his death, James Dean became a legend.
His legacy lives till this day.
This is the story of James Dean's death.
This is how it was.
(mechanical instrumental music)
- [Narrator 2] All right.
If you like this video please give it a thumbs up,
and don't forget to hit that notification bell
so you won't miss new episodes.
(bell ringing)