Accidents can happen anytime, especially since moving objects tend to collide. In fact, collision accidents make up almost 50% of accidents, according to some estimates. However, many accidents can occur, like unexpected potholes, severe weather, and animals that dart out onto the road.
Sometimes, accidents are inevitable from day one, since they’re caused by manufacturing defects. If you’ve never heard of Ford’s Bucking Bronco’s, it’s not all that uncommon, yet they’re one of the most deadly cars to have ever driven the road. Apparently, the Bronco would tip off its wheels at a snail’s pace of just 20 miles per hour. Even engineers rolled the cars over in test drives, yet upper management put them on the road without delay. This resulted in hundreds of deaths and extreme injuries, like paralysis. The Bronco’s are no longer being made however it’s been reported that today’s Ford Explorers aren’t that much better.
So, you really need to do your research, when buying a car, and then exercise perpetual caution when driving, since the risk is real. In fact, the leading cause of death in people, ages 15-29 is car accidents. Some accidents are also famous. Here are the top four that shook the world…
Jayne Mansfield became a major sex symbol in the 1950’s, especially since Marilyn Monroe’s career had taken a downturn. Mansfield was impressive because she was highly self-sufficient, despite her dad dying when she was a very small child. It probably didn’t hurt that she had a high IQ of 163 and knew how to speak five languages fluently. She was only 17 when she packed up her life and headed to California to become famous.
Between taking classes at UCLA, she was on the lookout for parts in movies. She was very persistent and eventually, Warner Bro gave her a few small acting roles, which was speculated to have little to do with her acting ability and everything to do with her assets. She even said herself, the public didn’t care about her brains. They were only interested in the “40-21-35”, referring to her bust, waist, and hips ratio. She did everything to get in front of the camera and would flaunt her looks at any given opportunity. In 1995, she posed as Playboy’s Playmate of the Month. She was inevitably, a controversial Hollywood figure, and eventually succumbed to a drinking problem.
Things didn’t get any easier, when in 1967, she and three of her children, four of her Chihuahuas, her then-boyfriend, Samuel S. Brody, and young driver Ron Harrison got into a tragic car accident. The Buick Electra was said to have been driving at 80 MPH and wasn’t able to slow down in time to prevent collision with a slowing trailer. The car went bulldozing right underneath the trailer and its roof got completely sheared off. All of the adults, in the front seats, died on impact, and Mansfield was said to have died of a crushed skull. The only survivors were the children in the back seats, who got some scrapes and broken bones, however nothing serious.
Jayne Mansfield’s body was buried on her family’s plot at Pen Argyle, Pennsylvania and then, some twenty years later, a pink granite gravestone was installed, which said “we love you more each day”. She left almost no wealth behind for her five children, since she had incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of lawyer’s fees from her three divorces and also creditor’s bills. Yet, one of her daughters, Mariska Hargitay, went on to have a lucrative movie and television career.
One of the most profound things that happened because of Mansfield’s death is that it prompted the introduction of a safety bar feature on the back of all trucks and trailers, to prevent cars from colliding underneath. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration named them the DOT bar however they’re often referred to as the Mansfield bar.
Paul Walker’s crash shocked Hollywood and broke the hearts of millions of moviegoers, especially fans who loved, The Fast and the Furious. It was during the filming of the seventh sequel to The Fast and the Furious, on November 30, 2013, that Paul Walker and his friend Roger Rodas got behind the wheel of a Porsche Carrera GT and crashed.
Apparently, they were going over 100 mph and the driver, Rogers, was speculated to have spun out of control. The car hit the sidewalk and then struck a tree, and finally a light post, which caused the car to completely burst up into flames. Both, Walker and Roger, died of traumatic and thermal injuries.
It was questioned whether the Porsche was in good condition and without defect however Porsche was found to be not at fault. The accident was most likely caused by the car’s high speed and would have been less severe, at a slower pace.
Paul Walker’s death motivated so many fans to go see his last movie, The Fast and the Furious 7 that it became the highest grossing debut for an April movie. In its first weekend, the film grossed $143.6 million.
Princess Diana’s car accident took the whole world by storm, on August 31, 1997. She had just recently, officially separated, from the Royal Family’s Prince Charles and was out vacationing with new boyfriend, Dodi Fayed. The couple was touring around France, yet was having trouble because of massive amounts of paparazzi. When they were ready to go home for the day, they decided to use a decoy method to get away from the paparazzi. Once the decoy had been executed, they got a new car, and called up the hotel’s head of security, to be their driver.
However, this wasn’t enough to escape paparazzi and they were chased straight from the hotel. Finally, they hit a Fiat, lost control, and smashed into a pillar. The driver, Henri Paul and Dodi, were declared dead on the spot and Diana died not long after in the hospital.
An autopsy report revealed that the driver, Henri, had been drinking and was on medication, so he was intoxicated at the time of the crash. Yet, Dodi’s grieving father suggested that the car accident could have been set up by the Royal Family, since he speculated that they had been unhappy with Diana for dating after the divorce. However, it was determined that the cause of the accident was because of paparazzi and the intoxicated driver.
Many, who had never met Princess Diana, felt heart broken when she died. It’s unclear why, however it’s possible that, it’s because she was so relatable, as a mother and also because she was open about her emotions, which was unusual for the Royal Family at the time. Either way, half the world watched her funeral.
Ayrton Senna was born in 1960 and remains a legend in the world of racing. He grew up in an extremely rich Brazilian family, where he could have easily stayed working for his father however, he loved racing since childhood. At 21, he moved to Britain for racing and then in 1984, he started racing with Formula 1.
Within his first year, he won so many races, that he quickly graduated from his initial Toleman team to Lotus’ elite one. It didn’t take him long to outgrow Lotus either and in just four more years, he transitioned to McLaren. In his first season with McLaren, in 1988, he obtained a driving title and then went on to win two more World Championships. He remains the youngest three-time World Championship record holder and also holds the record for most consecutive wins.
Yet, many described his personality, off the track, as what made him special. Apparently, he was a very sensitive and emotional person, and he raced to find the deeper meaning in life. He always pushed himself to the limit and drove so fast that he couldn’t consciously understand what was happening. Yet, he explained that in these moments he felt fragile and became acutely awareness of his immortality.
By some reports, he drove like a man possessed, like by demons, and others said that his imbalance was what made him genius. Inevitably, his need for speed is what eventually led to his death in 1994. He pushed the car faster than it could go, over the bumpy terrain, and it flew off the Imola track. When it smashed into the concrete wall, he died instantly on impact.
Although Senna had just died, which included the wreckage of his race car and a pool of his blood, the F1 drivers were required to complete the race, mere feet away. This became an F1 scandal and some drivers report the horror that still haunts them to this day. The Senna family had asked the F1 boss, Bernie Ecclestone, not to attend Senna’s funeral, since they considered the continuation of the race to have been heartless.
However, many big names, in the F1 world, turned up to his funeral, like Alan Prost and Damon Hill, and not-to-mention 3 millions of his fan from Sao Paulo, Brazil. An estimated 400 million of Senna’s wealth had been donated to underprivileged Brazilian children. He was known for having a great heart and donating plenty in his lifetime.
Conclusion
Although very few people feel afraid when they get behind the wheel of a car, the number of deaths is staggering. It doesn’t always matter who the driver is or how skilled they are because car accidents don’t pick favorites. However, they do happen to some of the world’s favorite icons, like Jayne Mansfield, Paul Walker, Princess Diana, and Ayrton Senna. So, remember that life is short and unexpected, so buckle up and live fully.
