Remembering 10 Famous People Who Died in Car Accidents

Car accidents can be fatal. That’s why for the sake of our safety, private and public agencies constantly bombard us with campaigns and information drives designed to remind us of measures we must uphold for better and safer driving. For All Soul's Day, Carmudi would like to take some time to remember a few prominent figures we lost to unfortunate mishaps that occurred while behind the wheel or somewhere near a vehicle.

Princess Diana

Princess Di’s death on August 31, 1997 stunned the entire world. The Princess of Wales tragically died from massive internal injuries she sustained in a high-speed car crash, which was the result of her party’s intention to avoid the paparazzi chasing her Mercedes-Benz S280. The luxury sedan crashed into a concrete pillar in Paris, killing Diana along with her chauffeur Henri Paul, and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed.

James Dean

The ‘Rebel Without A Cause’ star had his life tragically cut short when he died on September 30, 1955 in a car crash that happened on a California highway. The American icon was at the height of his career when he smashed his Porsche 550 Spyder into another car while on the way to, of all things, an auto racing event. Dean died at the scene.

Randy Savage

Former pro-wrestler Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage died in a car accident in Florida on May 20, 2011. According to reports, Savage—whose legal name was Randy Mario Poffo—suffered a heart attack behind the wheel, causing him to lose control of his Jeep Wrangler. The vehicle jumped over a concrete median divider, crossed the opposite lane, and collided onto a tree head-on. The reports say that the ex-WWF superstar died from his injuries and not the heart attack.

Dale Earnhardt

Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. lived and died on the race track. The race car driver perished after experiencing severe head trauma during an accident in the final lap of the Daytona 500 event on February 18, 2001. He was driving a Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

Paul Walker

Paul William Walker IV is an American actor who gained prominence as Vin Diesel’s closest bud in the Fast and Furious franchise. On the evening of November 30, 2013, Walker was riding in the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT owned by his friend and financial adviser, Roger Rodas. It is believed that Rodas lost control of the vehicle while driving at high speeds and smashed into a tree in an area north of Los Angeles. Both Walker and Rodas perished in the incident.

Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes

TLC singer and founding member Lisa Nicole Lopes, who the world knows better as Left Eye, died in a car crash in Honduras on April 25, 2002. Lopes rented out a vehicle while visiting Latin American nation on a special spiritual retreat with friends and family. On the night of her death, Lopes, along with seven other people in her party, encountered a head-on collision while inside their rental. Lopes was the only fatality.

Anton Yelchin

Star Trek’s Anton Yelchin died of a horrible freak accident wherein the actor got pinned between his SUV—a Jeep Grand Cherokee—and a brick pillar outside his California home. Reports describing the incident say that after Yelchin exited his car to secure his driveway, which is on a steep incline, his SUV rolled back and trapped him against the pillar and a security fence. Yelchin’s friends found his body early morning of June 19, 2016.

On the local front, we also have beloved personalities that we lost to accidents on the road. Here are three who will be fondly remembered.

Ric Segreto

Popular 80s singer-songwriter Ric Segreto, the crooner behind hits Don’t Know What To Say, Give Me A Chance, and Kahit Konting Pagtingin, considered motorcycles as his secondary passion. Unfortunately, his passion became the cause of his death. While traversing the Buendia Avenue/EDSA flyover on his motorcycle, Segreto ran into a piece of debris from an ongoing construction project at the location. The singer died on the spot, and his body was found among the iron grills and rubble in the construction area.

Lino Brocka

Brocka, who gained international recognition for his films Insiang and Jaguar, met his untimely death on May 21, 1991 when the car he was on hit an electric post along East Avenue, Quezon City. Driving the car was actor William Lorenzo, who survived the crash.

Jay Ilagan

Who can forget the demanding roles that Jay Ilagan played in Soltero, Salawahan, Kisapmata, and Sister Stella L? A prolific Pinoy actor, Ilagan died on February 3, 1992, after losing control of his motorcycle and skidding to his death. Reports say that Ilagan was not wearing a protective helmet.