Where James Dean Crashed...
When we return to Tahoe from SLO, we always pass the James Dean Memorial Junction at the "Y" intersection of Highways 46 and 41. It wasn't until this trip home that I researched the happenings here.
On September 30, 1955, Dean and his Porsche mechanic were going for the weekend sports car races at Salinas, California. Donald Turnupseed, a student at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, was headed home to Tulare for the weekend to visit his parents. At this intersection he would veer left onto Highway 41 and head northeast for Fresno. Turnupseed later testified at a hearing, held in San Luis Obispo, that he slowed as he approached the intersection, glanced up the hill to look for oncoming cars, then crossed over the line to continue his trip on Highway 41.
According to the report, Turnupseed said he never saw the other car. Police later concluded that the color of Dean's car and the twilight dusk camouflaged the Porsche. Turnupseed's Ford and Dean's Porsche hit almost head-on. The impact of the crash was terrific. Dean's car ended up in a ditch by the roadside, "looking like a crumpled pack of cigarettes,".
Turnupseed had minor physical injuries but I can only imagine the long term devastation he experienced being the person who ended James Dean's life. Tragic for all.
"If a man can bridge the gap between life and death,
if he can live on after he's dead, then maybe he was a great man."
-James Dean
1 comments:
What a sad day that must have been for so many people. Cool to see the spot though!
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