Sam Kinison - Death

Death

On April 10, 1992, Kinison died after his white 1989 Pontiac Trans Am was struck head-on on U.S. Route 95, four miles (6 km) north of Interstate 40 and several miles west of Needles, California, by a pickup truck driven by a 17-year-old boy who had been drinking alcohol. The pickup truck crossed the center line of the roadway and went into Kinison's lane. At the time of the collision, Kinison was traveling to Laughlin, Nevada to perform at a sold-out show.

Immediately after the impact, Kinison did not appear to have been seriously injured, as he got out of his car with what appeared to be only cuts on his lips and forehead and then lay down only after his friends (who had been traveling in a separate vehicle) begged him to do so. According to Carl LaBove, who had been traveling in the separate vehicle and who held Kinison's bleeding head in his hands, Kinison then said, "I don't want to die. I don't want to die." Kinison paused, according to LaBove, as if he was listening to a voice that LaBove could not hear, and then asked, "But why?" After another pause, Kinison then said, "OK. OK. OK." LaBove said later, "The last 'OK' was so soft and at peace. . . . Whatever voice was talking to him gave him the right answer and he just relaxed with it. He said it so sweet, like he was talking to someone he loved."

Kinison died at the scene of the collision. An autopsy found that he had suffered multiple traumatic injuries which caused his death. Souiri was rendered unconscious by the collision, but survived the accident with a mild concussion.

The other driver, Troy Pierson, later pleaded guilty to one count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. He was sentenced to one year of probation and 300 hours of community service, and his driver's license was suspended for two years.

Kinison is interred with family members at the Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His grave marker includes the unattributed quote, "In another time and place he would have been called prophet."

Comedian George Carlin's eighth HBO stand-up comedy special, Jammin' in New York, was dedicated to the memory of Kinison. At the beginning of the broadcast, the words "this show is for SAM" appeared on the screen.

On May 23, 1993, the Fox network aired a special entitled "A Tribute to Sam Kinison." The special contained archival footage of Kinison and stand-up comedy performances by comedians including Robin Williams, Rodney Dangerfield, and Jim Carrey.