Donald Turnupseed

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Donald Turnupseed (1932 – July 1995), of Tulare, California, was the driver who collided with the car of actor James Dean on September 30, 1955 near Cholame, California, resulting in fatal injuries to Dean. Turnupseed, while attempting to cross a fork on State Route 41, crossed into Dean's lane, resulting in an almost head-on collision.

[edit] Accident with James Dean

Dean, who had received a speeding ticket two hours before the accident, was driving a silver Porsche 550 Spyder and Turnupseed was in a 1950 Ford Tudor. Turnupseed, who stated he did not see Dean's vehicle, was not charged in the accident.

Turnupseed was a 23-year-old student at California Polytechnic State University at the time of the accident. He spoke with the Tulare Advance Register a few hours after the crash, but then apparently refused any further interviews or public comment on the accident for the remainder of his life. Turnupseed's son, David, has claimed that a published interview with his father, supposedly conducted by crime writer Maria Moretti, is not genuine.[1] Beyond that denial of the legitimacy of the Moretti interview, David also has refused to comment on the accident.

"I'm just tired of being pestered about something that happened 50 years ago. I wasn't there and my father didn't talk about it."

— David Turnupseed, son of Donald Turnupseed

[edit] Post Accident

After the accident, Donald Turnupseed, along with his parents, went on to establish a successful electrical contracting business, Turnupseed Electric Service, in California's San Joaquin Valley. He died of lung cancer in July 1995 at the age of 63.