Page 86 - SLO Visitors Guide Spring 2024

Paso Robles
James Dean’s last ride was along Highway 46 almost 70 years ago
Victims were taken to a Paso Robles hospital following the fatal accident
As you drive by Paso Robles along Highway 46 East, you are greeted with sights of the roll- ing amber hills, groves of trees, and often a clear blue sky; how- ever, you may not realize you are retracing the last route that actor James Dean drove close to 70 years ago where he died in a car crash at just 24 years old.
“James Dean had one of the most spectacularly brief careers of
any screen star. In just more than a year, and only three films, Dean
became a widely admired screen personality, a personification of the restless American youth of the mid-50s, and an embodiment of the title of one of his films, ‘Rebel Without a Cause,” reads the official James Dean website.
On Sept 30, 1955, Dean was traveling to Salinas with mechanic Rolf Wuetherich, where he was
set to race his Porsche Spyder. The pair stopped at Blackwell’s Corner about 45 minutes east of Paso Robles. Local history notes that Dean bought an apple and a soda and met with other racers, making plans to dine at the Paso Robles Inn later in the day, a meeting he didn’t keep.
The local weekly newspaper, The Paso Robles Journal, reports the events of that day in the Octo- ber 6, 1955 issue:
“The young star—an instant success on Broadway in two plays, and believed destined for greatness after a fine performance in “East
of Eden”—died enroute to Paso Robles hospital in Paul Moreno’s Cholame ambulance after one of the most terrific crashes of two cars in the county’s record.
“According to the preliminary report of Highway Patrol Officers Ernie Tripke and Ronald Nelson, Dean was driving west on Highway 466 when Donald Gene Turnup- seed, 23, Tulare, going east, started to make a left turn onto the “Y” junction with Highway 41. The two cars collided with terrible impact.”
Witnesses are reported to have stated that Dean was taking evasive measures to avoid colliding with Turnupseed’s vehicle as it pulled
in front of the oncoming Porsche. The Porsche rolled several times, landing, crushed on the roadside.
Turnupseed survived the crash with “only a bruised nose and face.” Wuetherich was thrown clear and suffered a broken jaw, broken leg, and other injuries. Dean was extracted from the wreckage, his
James Dean’s wrecked Porsche and Cholame Ambulance attendant at the scene.
A PATH TO REMEMBER? THE REVERSE MORTGAGE CHOICE.
Richard Rockoff:
NMLS# 243871 DRE# 00801198
RaeChelle Rockoff:
NMLS# 243867 DRE# 01310466
Planatek Financial, Inc.:
NMLS# 328896 / DRE# 01329960
MEET THE ROCKOFF TEAM 578 Spring St., Paso Robles, CA Call (820) 206-8152
Delivery 9am - 3pm Open 7 days a week
Box Lunches • Meetings • Party Platters Wedding Packages • Wine Tours Breakfast, Lunch & More
Patio Seating • Dog Friendly
Kids Menu • Gluten-Free • Vegan Options
1102 Pine St., Paso Robles (Next to Park Cinemas Theatre
(805) 237-1780
Order Online www.redscooterdeli.com
86 SPRING 2024
slovisitorsguide.com