The Cursed Car That Played a Part in James Dean's Untimely Death

It's hard to believe it's been 62 years since James Dean passed away. The Rebel Without a Cause actor was only 24 years old when he was killed in a car accident in Cholame, CA, on Sept. 30, 1955. James and mechanic Rolf Wütherich had been driving the actor's Porsche 550 Spyder to a car race in Salinas, CA, when they were struck by a Ford Tudor, which was driven by 23-year-old Donald Turnupseed, at an intersection on CA 41. "[Turnupseed] just didn't see Dean coming until the last, split second, and it was too late," CHP officer Ernie Tripke told the LA Times in 2005. "We weren't qualified to say that [Dean] was deceased, but I think he was darn close to it." Rolf suffered a broken jaw and leg, while Donald had "very minor injuries" and was not detained. James died at the scene of the accident.

Even though James was known for his love of fast cars and racing, witnesses claimed that James had not been speeding at the time of the crash. Still, some people believe otherwise since he had gotten a speeding ticket just two hours before the accident in Bakersfield, CA.

James's Porsche, which he nicknamed "The Little Bastard," is also rumored to have been cursed. Not only did the vehicle later roll off the back of a truck and crush a mechanic's legs, but after a used-car dealership sold its parts, weird things started happening. The Porsche's engine, transmission, and tires were installed into different cars, and those cars were all later involved in fatal car accidents. In addition, the truck that had been transporting the Porsche's chassis as part of a highway safety exhibit skidded off the road, killing the driver, and the rest of the car's parts mysteriously vanished from the crash site. The location of James's accident is now referred to as "Blood Alley" due to the high number of fatal crashes that still occur there today.