Special Report

30 Famous People Who Died in Transit

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Throughout history, there have been many instances where renowned individuals have met their untimely demise while in transit, whether in the skies or on the road. These incidents serve as reminders that mortality knows no bounds, regardless of one’s status or achievements.  (Here are brief accounts of 37 violent celebrity deaths.)

To compile a list of 30 famous people who died in transit, 24/7 Tempo consulted various online sources, including news sites and regional publications. The list is by no means comprehensive, and we used editorial discretion to determine which people and the matter in which they died most captivated the public’s interest and generated significant media coverage.

Click here to read about 30 famous people who died in transit

From iconic musicians like Eddie Cochran and Patsy Cline, whose voices continue to resonate despite their tragic ends in plane crashes, to beloved actors such as James Dean and Princess Grace Kelly, whose lives were taken in car accidents, the tales of these lost stars evoke a sense of both awe and sorrow. (Here is a list of  20 celebrities who died broke.)

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Tsar Alexander II of Russia
> Death: March 13, 1881
> Mode of transportation: Carriage
> Known as: Liberal reformist tsar, emancipator of the serfs

Tsar Alexander II of Russia, Known as the emancipation of Russia’s serfs in 1861, was killed in a fatal attack on March 13, 1881. As the Tsar’s carriage traversed the streets of St. Petersburg, an anarchist revolutionary, Nikolai Rysakov, targeted him with a bomb. His carriage became a symbol of the violent act that forever altered the course of Russian history.

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nostri-imago / Flickr

John Jacob Astor IV
> Death: April 15, 1912
> Mode of transportation: Ship
> Known as: One of richest men in the world, wealthiest passenger on the Titanic

John Jacob Astor IV, a prominent American businessman, met a tragic end aboard the ill-fated RMS Titanic, fell victim to one of history’s most infamous maritime disasters. Despite his wealth and stature, Astor perished as the luxurious ocean liner sank into the frigid waters of the North Atlantic.

Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Isidor Straus
> Death: April 15, 1912
> Mode of transportation: Ship
> Known as: Co-owner of Macy’s department store

Isidor Straus, a prominent American businessman and department store mogul, was also aboard the Titanic. Straus chose to remain onboard the doomed vessel with his wife, Ida. They refused the offer of a lifeboat, opting to stay together until the very end.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand
> Death: June 28, 1914
> Mode of transportation: Car
> Known as: Heir apparent to Austro-Hungarian crown

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated on June 28, 1914 during a visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia. Gavrilo Princip, a young Bosnian Serb nationalist, shot the Archduke and his wife, Sophie, as they traveled in an open-top car. This tragic event served as a catalyst for the outbreak of World War I, forever altering the course of history.

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Kobe Bryant
> Death: Jan. 26, 2020
> Mode of transportation: Helicopter
> Known as: All-time great NBA player for the Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe Bryant, the legendary American professional basketball player, died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020. Along with his daughter Gianna and seven others, he was on board a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter that was flying to a basketball tournament at the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, California. The helicopter encountered thick fog and crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California.

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Isidora Duncan
> Death: Sept. 14, 1927
> Mode of transportation: Car
> Known as: Maverick dancer

Isadora Duncan, the influential American dancer and choreographer, died in a car accident on Sept. 14, 1927. While in Nice, France, she was riding in an open sports car when her long scarf became entangled in the vehicle’s wheel or axle. The sudden pull from the scarf caused her neck to snap, resulting in her immediate death.

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Grace Kelly
> Death: Sept. 14, 1982
> Mode of transportation: Car
> Known as: Actress who married Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956

Grace Kelly, the beloved American actress and later Princess of Monaco, died in a car accident. While driving with her daughter Stéphanie on a winding road in Monaco, Kelly suffered a stroke or heart attack, which caused her to lose control of the vehicle. The car veered off the road and down a steep embankment, killing Kelly but sparing her daughter.

James Dean
> Death: Sept. 30, 1955
> Mode of transportation: Car
> Known as: Actor who played rebellious characters

James Dean was killed at age 24 in a car accident. He was driving his Porsche 550 Spyder on California State Route 46 when his car hit another vehicle at an intersection near Cholame, in San Luis Obispo County, California. His untimely death cemented his status as a cultural icon and symbol of youthful rebellion.

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Anton Cermak
> Death: March 6, 1933
> Mode of transportation: Car
> Known as: Mayor of Chicago

While standing on the running board next to president-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt as he gave a speech from the back of an open car at an event in Miami, Cermak was shot by Giuseppe Zangara, an Italian immigrant who may or may not have been targeting Roosevelt. Cermak died of sepsis about three weeks later – though his personal physician later surmised that he would have survived the bullet wound if he hadn’t also been suffering from ulcerative colitis.

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King Alexander I of Yugoslavia
> Death: Oct. 9, 1934
> Mode of transportation: Car
> Known as: Founder and first ruler of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

While on a state visit to Marseille to meet with French foreign minister Louis Barthou, King Alexander I of Yugoslavia was targeted by a group of Croatian separatists aided by the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. As his motorcade traveled through the city, Vlado Chernozemski, a Bulgarian member of the MRO, approached the car and fired a number of shots. The king was mortally wounded, as was Barthou – though he may have been killed by police bullets fired at Chernozemski.

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Carole Lombard
> Death: January 16, 1942
> Mode of transportation: Airplane
> Known as: Actress known for screwball comedies in 1930s and ’40s

Lombard, her mother, and a group of 20 other passengers were traveling back to Los Angeles from a war bond rally in Indianapolis. The plane encountered severe weather conditions, including dense fog, as it approached the Las Vegas area. The plane deviated from its intended course, possibly due to navigational errors caused by the weather, and crashed into the side of Mount Potosi, about 32 miles southwest of Las Vegas.

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Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
> Death: April 18, 1943
> Mode of transportation: Airplane
> Known as: Commander of the combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy; overseer of the attack on Pearl Harbor

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, architect of the Pearl Harbor attack, died when U.S. fighter planes ambushed his aircraft in an operation code-named “Operation Vengeance.” Yamamoto was shot down and killed while en route to inspect Japanese bases in the Solomon Islands.

Leslie Howard
> Death: June 1,1943
> Mode of transportation: Airplane
> Known as: Suave British actor of the 1930s and early ’40s

Howard, known for his roles in “Gone With the Wind,” “Pygmalion,” and other films, when his civilian flight traveling from Lisbon to Bristol was shot down over the Bay of Biscay by German Luftwaffe fighters. Howard was one of 17 fatalities on board. Why the plane was attacked has never been satisfactorily explained, but one theory holds that the Germans thought Winston Churchill was aboard.

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Jackson Pollock
> Death: Aug. 11, 1956
> Mode of transportation: Car
> Known as: Influential abstract impressionist painter with a famous “drip” technique

The 44-year-old Pollock was driving under the influence of alcohol in the East Hampton, New York, community of Springs – where he painted with other artists, including Willem de Kooning – when his car skidded off the road, hitting a tree and overturning. Pollock, along with one of his passengers, Edith Metzger, were both killed in the accident.

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Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Buddy Holly
> Death: Feb. 3, 1959
> Mode of transportation: Airplane
> Known as: Iconic pioneering rock-and-roll musician

Influential early rock-and-roll star Holly died in a plane crash along with fellow performers Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, while they were on a tour called the Winter Dance Party. Holly had chartered a small plane, a Beechcraft Bonanza, to travel between concert venues. It crashed shortly after takeoff in a cornfield near Mason City, Iowa, probably due to poor weather conditions and/or the inexperience of the pilot. Singer-songwriter immortalized the event as “the day the music died” in his hit song “American Pie.”

Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

Eddie Cochran
> Death: April 16, 1960
> Mode of transportation: Car
> Known as: Raspy-voiced rocker from late 1950s

Cochran was traveling by taxi in Wiltshire, England, heading to London after a performance in Bristol, with his fiancée, Sharon Sheeley; fellow musician Gene Vincent; and tour manager Peter Tompkins. Traveling at high speed, the taxi collided with a lamp post, throwing Cochran from the car. Cochran, only 21 years old at the time, died the following day from a massive brain trauma, and the other passengers suffered serious but not fatal injuries.

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John F. Kennedy
> Death: Nov. 22, 1963
> Mode of transportation: Car
> Known as: Youngest man and first Catholic elected U.S. president

John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. As the motorcade passed the Texas School Book Depository, shots were fired. Kennedy sustained fatal gunshot wounds and was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The assassination shocked the nation and led to an extensive investigation by the Warren Commission, which concluded that emotionally disturbed ex-Marine Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination.

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Jim Reeves
> Death: July 31, 1964
> Mode of transportation: Airplane
> Known as: Country singer

Reeves was piloting his single-engine aircraft, a Beechcraft Debonair, from Batesville, Arkansas, to Nashville, Tennessee. The plane crashed near Brentwood, Tennessee,killing Reeves and his manager, Dean Manuel. The exact cause of the crash remains uncertain, but it is believed to have been due to a combination of factors including Reeves’s spatial disorientation and poor visibility caused by inclement weather.

Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Jayne Mansfield
> Death: June 28, 1967
> Mode of transportation: Car
> Known as: Actress and sex symbol of 1950s and early ’60s, Playboy Playmate, mother of actor Mariska Hargitay

While Mansfield was traveling on U.S. Highway 90 in Louisiana with her attorney, their driver, and her three children, the car, a Buick Electra, collided with the rear end of a tractor-trailer. The impact was severe and resulted in fatal injuries to Mansfield, as well as the deaths of the other two adults in the vehicle. (The children had only minor injuries.) The incident, which became infamous, led to discussions about automobile safety and the introduction of new regulations in the entertainment industry.

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Roberto Clemente
> Death: Dec. 31, 1972
> Mode of transportation: Airplane
> Known as: All-time great outfielder for Pittsburgh Pirates

A legendary Puerto Rican-born baseball player, Clemente died in a plane crash. He was part of a humanitarian mission to deliver supplies to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua. The aircraft, a chartered DC-7, experienced mechanical issues shortly after takeoff and crashed into the waters off the coast of Puerto Rico. Despite extensive search and rescue efforts, Clemente’s body was never recovered.

Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

Lynyrd Skynyrd band members
> Death: Oct. 20, 1977
> Mode of transportation: Airplane
> Known as: Southern rockers

Several members of the iconic Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd died when their chartered plane ran out of fuel and crashed in a heavily wooded area near Gillsburg, Mississippi. The crash claimed the lives of lead vocalist and founding member Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backup vocalist Cassie Gaines (Gaines’s sister), as well as the band’s assistant road manager and the pilot and co-pilot.

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Patsy Cline
> Death: March 5, 1983
> Mode of transportation: Airplane
> Known as: One of the most influential country vocalists of all time

Cline was returning to Nashville, Tennessee, after performing at a benefit concert in Kansas City, Kansas. The aircraft, a Piper Comanche, encountered severe weather conditions and crashed near Camden, Tennessee. Cline, along with fellow musicians Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins, as well as the pilot, all perished.

Stevie Ray Vaughan
> Death: Aug. 26, 1990
> Mode of transportation: Helicopter
> Known as: Blues rocker, legendary guitarist

After performing at a concert in Alpine Valley, Wisconsin, Vaughan boarded a helicopter along with several members of Eric Clapton’s touring crew. The helicopter encountered dense fog and crashed into a hillside shortly after takeoff, claiming the lives of everyone on board.

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Diana, Princess of Wales
> Death: Aug. 31, 1997
> Mode of transportation: Car
> Known as: Princess of Wales, former wife of future king of England

Princess Diana died in a car accident that occurred in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris. Diana, along with her companion, Dodi Fayed, and their driver, Henri Paul, were being pursued by paparazzi. The vehicle collided with a pillar inside the tunnel, killing both Diana and Fayed. Paul was reportedly drunk and speeding at the time – but Fayed’s father, Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed, initially maintained that the two had been assassinated on orders from the British Crown.

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John Denver
> Death: Oct. 12, 1997
> Mode of transportation: Airplane
> Known as: Country and soft-rock singer

Though Denver was banned from flying a plane due to his problems with alcohol, he was piloting a Rutan Long-EZ, an experimental aircraft he owned, when it crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Pacific Grove, California. The crash occurred shortly after takeoff and was attributed to factors such as insufficient fuel, Denver’s inexperience with the aircraft, and a loss of control. There is a theory that he may have crashed deliberately to kill himself because no distress calls were made.

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

John F. Kennedy Jr.
> Death: July 16, 1999
> Mode of transportation: Airplane
> Known as: Son of the nation’s youngest elected president

A son of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the younger Kennedy, along with his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her sister Lauren Bessette, died in the crash of the small private aircraft he was piloting, a Piper Saratoga. They were flying from New Jersey to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, when the plane went down into the Atlantic Ocean near their destination. The accident has been attributed to various factors, including Kennedy’s limited experience as a pilot, his possible spatial disorientation at night, and unfavorable weather conditions.

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Payne Stewart
> Death: Oct. 25, 1999
> Mode of transportation: Airplane
> Known as: Flamboyantly dressed golfer who won 11 PGA Tour events

The Learjet Stewart was traveling on from Orlando to Texas experienced a loss of cabin pressure, leading to a rapid descent and eventual crash. The incident killed all passengers and crew members on board.

Aaliyah Dana Haughton
> Death: Aug. 25, 2001
> Mode of transportation: Airplane
> Known as: R&B artist

Following a music video shoot in the Bahamas, Haughton’s plane, a Cessna 402, encountered issues shortly after takeoff. The aircraft crashed and killed the singer, who was just 22 years old at the time, as well as eight other people on board. Her death shook the music industry and left a lasting impact on her fans worldwide.

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Paul Walker
> Death: Nov. 30, 2013
> Mode of transportation: Car
> Known as: Actor best-known for his role as a daredevil driver in Fast and Furious movie franchise

Walker died while attending a charity event in California, Walker was a passenger in a Porsche Carrera GT driven by his friend Roger Rodas. The vehicle lost control, crashed into a tree, and burst into flames. Both Walker and Rodas died in the accident.

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Troy Gentry
> Death: Sept. 8, 2017
> Mode of transportation: Helicopter
> Known as: Country music artist (Montgomery Gentry)

Gentry, one-half of the country music duo Montgomery Gentry, died in a helicopter crash in Medford, New Jersey, just hours before a scheduled concert. The helicopter, a Schweizer 269C, experienced mechanical issues and crashed in a wooded area near the Flying W Airport. Both Gentry and the pilot, whose error was blamed for the crash, were killed.

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