Overview

• He died at 24 when his Porsche 550 Spyder collided head-on with a Ford driven by 23-year-old Donald Gene Turnupseed near Cholame, California.
• Turnupseed sustained minor injuries, passenger Rolf Wütherich was ejected from the car, and Dean was pronounced dead at Paso Robles Hospital at 6:20 p.m.
• He had just finished filming Giant and was driving to a Salinas racing event after receiving a speeding ticket earlier that afternoon.
• A subsequent inquiry attributed responsibility for the collision to Dean.
• Retrospectives highlight his three defining films and cultural impact, noting two posthumous Oscar nominations and that long-rumored post-crash photos remain unverified.