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Alec Baldwin is shaken but unharmed following a frightening car accident in The Hamptons on October 13. The 30 Rock star and his actor brother Stephen Baldwin slammed a Range Rover into a tree after Alec swerved to avoid a collision with a garbage truck. Fortunately, both Baldwins walked away unscathed from the incident. But not every star who’s been in a car crash has been so lucky. Tragic accidents have killed or seriously injured many stars over the years, including Anne Heche, Princess Diana, and Jayne Mansfield. 

Anne Heche

On the morning of August 5, 2022, actor Anne Heche was behind the wheel of her Mini Cooper when she crashed into a house in L.A.’s Mar Vista neighborhood. The resulting fire engulfed both the car and the home, and it took rescue personnel 45 minutes to extract Heche from her vehicle. She was taken to a hospital where she died from her injuries – which included severe burns, smoke inhalation, and a broken sternum – six days later. 

James Dean

James Dean was just 24 when the Porsche he was driving crashed into another car at a remote highway intersection near Paso Robles, California, on September 30, 1955. He suffered catastrophic injuries and was declared dead at the scene. Though Dean only starred in a handful of films during his brief Hollywood career, including Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden, and Giant, his untimely death and iconic style helped turn him into a legend. 

Jayne Mansfield

Blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield was just 34 when she was killed in a horrific car accident near New Orleans. The Girl Can’t Help It star had performed at a supper club in Biloxi, Mississippi, and was traveling to her next gig with her boyfriend, Sam Brody, and a driver named Ronnie Harrison in the early morning hours of June 29, 1967. Visibility was poor, and Harrison, who was behind the wheel, crashed into the back of a tractor trailer truck. All three adults were killed, but Mansfield’s three children who were asleep in the back seat survived with minor injuries, including future Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay. 

The tragic incident resulted in a change to the law, requiring trucks to be outfitted with a device dubbed a “Mansfield Bar” to prevent smaller vehicles from sliding underneath them during a crash. 

Tracy Morgan

Comedian Tracy Morgan was critically injured in a car accident on June 7, 2014. The SNL alum was riding in a limousine van on the New Jersey Turnpike that was hit by a Walmart truck. Morgan’s friend and mentor Jimmy McNair was killed, while Morgan spent two weeks in a coma and months recovering from his injuries, including a traumatic brain injury. Several other passengers were serious injured. Morgan sued Walmart and later settled out of court. An investigation found that the truck driver had been awake for more than 28 hours at the time of the accident, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Grace Kelly

The life of Hollywood star turned princess Grace Kelly was tragically cut short on September 14, 1982, when she died following a car crash in Monte Carlo. The 52-year-old Dial M for Murder star suffered a stroke while driving, which caused her car to veer off the road and plunge into a ravine. She and her daughter, Princess Stéphanie, were taken to the hospital, where Kelly later died. Among the mourners at Kelly’s funeral was Princess Diana, who would die more than a decade later in another tragic car accident. 

Princess Diana

The world plunged into mourning when Princess Diana was killed in a car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997. The 36-year-old British royal was trying to flee the paparazzi when the car she was in crashed into a pillar in the Pont D’Alma tunnel. An investigation later revealed that the car’s driver, Henri Paul, was also intoxicated. Diana suffered serious injuries and died later at the hospital. Paul and Diana’s boyfriend Dodi Fayed were declared dead at the scene.

Sam Kinison

On April 10, 1992, preacher-turned-comedian Sam Kinison was on U.S. 95 near Needles, California, on his way to a gig in Laughlin, Nevada. A pickup driven by a 17-year-old boy who had been drinking attempted to change lanes, leading to a head-on crash with Kinison’s Trans Am. After the accident, Kinison reportedly got out of his car and collapsed, asking God why he had to die (via Entertainment Weekly). 

Paul Walker

Actor Paul Walker was known for his daredevil driving moves in the Fast and Furious movies and his large personal collection of cars. But on November 30, 2013, Walker’s life took a tragic turn when he was involved in a high-speed, single-car accident in Santa Clarita, California. The actor was a passenger in a Porsche driven by his friend, Roger Rodas, that spun out of control, struck a tree, and burst into flames. Both Walker and Rodas died in the crash.  

Lisa Lopes

TLC member Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes was on a spiritual retreat in Honduras when she was involved in a fatal car accident on April 25, 2002. Lopes, 30, was behind the wheel of a rented Mitsubishi Montero when she swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle, causing the SUV to roll several times, killing Lopes. Footage from the moments just before the accident later appeared in the documentary The Last Days of Left Eye. 

Vince Neil and Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley

On December 8, 1984, the members of Mötley Crüe were partying with up-and-coming metal band Hanoi Rocks. When they ran out of booze, Mötley Crüe lead singer Vince Neil got behind the wheel of his Ford Pantera sports car for a run to the liquor store, with Hanoi Rocks member Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley as a passenger. Neil, who was speeding, lost control of the car. Two passengers in another car were seriously injured, and Dingley was killed in the resulting accident. Neil served just a few weeks in jail and was ordered to pay a $2.6 million fine (via Louder).

Ryan Dunn  

In 2011, Jackass star Ryan Dunn died at age 34 in a horrifying car accident that one official called the “worst” he’d ever seen (via The Hollywood Reporter). Dunn was behind the wheel of his Porsche when it hit a guardrail in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania. Dunn and his passenger were killed. And investigation found that the car was traveling more than 130 miles per hour and that Dunn’s blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit, according to ABC News.

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