Ryan Dunn death: Private service held peacefully, radical church threatens public service protest
A private service for Jackass star Ryan Dunn was held in Philadelphia, Wednesday, attended by friends and family members, even as a radical church organization stepped up their threat to protest against any public service held in honor of the TV and movie star.
Dunn, 34, died of blunt and thermal trauma during the wee hours of Monday morning, in a shocking car crash.
The Porsche 911 GT3 that Dunn was driving on a Pennsylvania highway after a heavy drinking session at a suburban Philadelphia bar Barnaby's veered off the road, flipped in the air and smashed into a patch of trees, immediately bursting into flames. Dunn and his friend, co-star and former Navy SEAL Zachary Hartwell died instantly in the car crash. Dunn was driving his Porsche at 132-140 mph at the time of the accident, the police said.
The police also said Dunn's blood alcohol content (BAC) was 0.196, or almost 2.5 times the state legal limit of 0.08 at the time of the crash.
On Wednesday, Jackass co-stars, friends and family members of Dunn attended a private service at DellaVecchia, Reilly, Smith & Boyd Funeral Home in the 400 block of North Church Street.
Brandon Bam Margera, his parents April and Phil Margera, Johnny Knoxville were some of the known faces at the service.
Meanwhile, Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) in Topeka, Kan., threatened to protest against and disrupt any public service that will be held for Dunn.
Ryan Dunn is in hell! the headline of the statement issued by the church read.
WBC, which has slammed Dunn as an arrogant, proud, filth-loving sinner, issued a warning to the public not to make a mock of sin, & to fear & obey God.
WBC is well-known for its extreme views on homosexuality and other issues. In a recent protest, the church group argued God was punishing America for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. Some of the group's protest signs read, Thank God for dead soldiers, God hates Fags and God hates America.
Group member and attorney Jonathan Phelps said WBC will respect the private service but if they plan on holding a public service, “that's when you’ve opened up the public forum, at least in the public arena.
Dunn is scheduled to be laid down to rest at the DellaVecchia, Reilly, Smith & Boyd Funeral Home in Pennsylvania on June 25.
West Chester police department said it will make all efforts so that the protests do not turn violent or break the law.
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