# The guy that ran over Stephen King is dead! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 23, 2000, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308 "2000-09-23T22:10:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2000, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/21 "2000-09-24T03:25:25Z")
I once went to a basketball game with Stephen King. Actually, I was at the same game that he was. He had a box seat for a college game, and I was in the lower tier just clockwise from him. I’ve driven by his house in Bangor, too. Pretty nice one, with cast-iron spiders webs in the windows. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2000, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/22 "2000-09-24T03:51:09Z")
The 11:00 news had only a little more information. Smith hadn’t been seen for several days, and his friends were getting worried. So he may have been dead for a while before they found him last night. ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2000, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/23 "2000-09-24T03:59:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by racinchikki \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > _Rosebud_– Stephen King is not _allowed_ to die until he finishes the Dark Tower series. > > He’s gonna live forever at this rate. Geez. Can we please have part 5 please? Please please? \*\* I agree on both counts!!! BTW he didn’t run _over_ Stephen King, more like he ran _under_ him. 😃 _runs away arms flailing_ ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2000, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/24 "2000-09-24T04:04:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gunslinger \* > \*\*The guy that ran over Stephen King last year was found dead at his home in Maine. \*\* Do you get your user name from the King story or series? ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2000, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/25 "2000-09-24T04:25:15Z")
Everything I ever heard about Mr. Smith translated into “irresponsible lowlife scumbag”, and every time an irresponsible lowlife scumbag dies, it’s good news. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2000, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/26 "2000-09-24T04:48:58Z")
Darn. I’d like to second the motion that King not die until he finishes the Dark Tower saga. Which may be why it’s not finished. King knows he’ll die if he does. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2000, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/27 "2000-09-24T14:38:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TVeblen \* > **Whatever insanities and complications humans inflict on ourselves, betcha the woofer is the most innocent.** Innocent? Hah! I had a friend who was found dead after falling down some stairs. He was a drinking man and had this big dog that was always underfoot. I put two and two together and decided that his death was not by “misadventure,” as the coroner ruled, but cold-blooded murder by his dog! ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2000, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/28 "2000-09-24T15:29:46Z")
Here’s a link to today’s Portland Press Herald story [http://www.portland.com/news/state/000924meking.shtml](http://www.portland.com/news/state/000924meking.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_G7subs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85e7bf/32.png) [@Rich\_G7subs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_G7subs)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2000, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/29 "2000-09-24T15:47:15Z")
I heard Stephen King rubbed his cheek and mumbled …“thinner” ---
**Author:** ![Baglady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Baglady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baglady)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2000, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/30 "2000-09-24T15:57:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TVeblen \* > \*\*Checking back as the twit _who worried about the dog_… > > Hell has more layers than is commonly believed, the worst, selfishly speaking, involve watching the descent into the pit of a fellow human. Marriage, friendship, human obligation all dictate “summoning back”. > > Stephen King faced the same demons: read The Shining, eating aspirin dry, and _look to his words_ for real demons faced.\*\* TVeblen – are you saying that Jack Torrance is a biographical characterization, or a reflection, of King? I know King also taught briefly (during Carrie) but are you familiar with any interview or such where King stated that he inked his own experiences into Torrance? – Baglady, who owns an _original_ hard cover print of the Gunslinger. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2000, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/31 "2000-09-24T17:08:45Z")
**TVeblen** – that was beautiful. There’s nothing more sad than a wasted life. Although idealists might say no life is wasted, because there’s something to be learned from it. And **baglady** , King talks about his identification with Jack Torrance in his new book, “On Writing”. He talks about his drug and alcohol problems, and says he doesn’t even remember writing “Cujo.” Excerpts from the book have been available on-line, mostly at his publisher’s site, [http://www.simonsays.com](http://www.simonsays.com), I think it is. ---
**Author:** ![Baglady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Baglady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baglady)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2000, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/32 "2000-09-24T17:25:35Z")
Hey Auntie Pam – thanks for the info about the King interview! I’ll go check it out! ---
**Author:** ![Scribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Scribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribe)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2000, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/33 "2000-09-24T21:38:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE Bo Diddly \* > \*\*I mean, would _you_ be able to go through life being known only as “The Guy That Ran Over Stephen King”? \*\* (hijack) This sort of infamy can be very unpleasant to live with. In 1960, in Bristol, England, Eddie Cochran was killed and Gene Vincent hurt when their driver lost control of the speeding car and smashed into a lamppost. According to a 1983 biography of Vincent, Cochran fans in Bristol _still_ regularly went looking–over 20 years later–for the driver “who killed Eddie”, to beat him up. If they found him, he’d get clobbered. Sounds like an urban legend…but that would be nasty to live with, if true. (hijack ends) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2000, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/34 "2000-09-24T21:59:33Z")
What about the guy who survived the crash that killed Princess Diana? Was he the driver, or just the body guard? ---
**Author:** ![Anti\_Pro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Anti\_Pro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anti_Pro)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2000, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/35 "2000-09-24T22:22:44Z")
That was the bodyguard for Dodi Fayed, Trevor Rees-Jones that survived the crash, though with not much memory left. I couldn’t help but also think of Margaret Mitchell’s death, being run over by the off duty taxi cab driver, who had also had many speeding tickets here in Atlanta. His daughter mentioned at his death, that he was forever ‘hounded’ by Margaret Mitchell fans for ‘murdering’ her. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/36 "2000-09-25T03:54:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scribe \* > (hijack) This sort of infamy can be very unpleasant to live with. In 1960, in Bristol, England, Eddie Cochran was killed and Gene Vincent hurt when their driver lost control of the speeding car and smashed into a lamppost. According to a 1983 biography of Vincent, Cochran fans in Bristol _still_ regularly went looking–over 20 years later–for the driver “who killed Eddie”, to beat him up. If they found him, he’d get clobbered. > > Sounds like an urban legend…but that would be nasty to live with, if true. (hijack ends) \*\* I’d hate going through life as the “Guy (or Girl) who Hit SK.” Or anyone, really, for that matter…but SK’s one of my fave writers. I’d die if I ran him over, I truly would. God ☹ And about how SK’s experiences may have carried over into the Shining, i was watching a program about him on TLC and he said that he left the room and one of his kids sort of destroyed something he was working on writing-- and he mentioned how felt like killing the kid at that moment…and that’s where the basis of the Shining came from. Plus in general, I guess a part of every writer is put in a character that tey care about…it makes the book seem more real, I don’t know…but that’s what I think. ---
**Author:** ![Yue\_Han](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/eada6e/32.png) [@Yue\_Han](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yue_Han)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/37 "2000-09-25T12:32:11Z")
> [@](#): > > He talks about his drug and alcohol problems, and says he doesn’t even remember writing “Cujo.” It all makes sense now. > [@](#): > > Plus in general, I guess a part of every writer is put in a character that tey care about…it makes the book seem more real, I don’t know…but that’s what I think. According to the forward of a Stephen King book, (I can’t remember who said it, in which book)_every_ character in a novel who matters is you, in some way. It’s why writing can be scary. –John ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/38 "2000-09-25T14:09:40Z")
Hey, Stephen always DID know how to spend his money. **TVeb:** I understood that the dog was \*driving. ---
**Author:** ![quasar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@quasar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quasar)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/39 "2000-09-25T15:30:22Z")
Maybe The Langoliers got to him… Hope I spelled it right ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308/40 "2000-09-25T17:13:35Z")
Which creature could it have been? My vote is for that scary thing in Gerald’s Game, or maybe Norman Whats-his-face, the psycho cop from Rose Madder. Or perhaps it was simply Justice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-that-ran-over-stephen-king-is-dead/34308.md?page=3)