Daniel V. Jones

Daniel Victor Jones was a former maintenance worker at a hotel in Long Beach, California, who is infamous for committing suicide in the middle of a busy Los Angeles transition loop between the Harbor and Century Freeways on live television on April 30, 1998. The supposed cause of his suicide was his resentment at his HMO for apparently inadequately treating him for his cancer and HIV infection, as evidenced by a videotape and a phone call he made and a banner he presented shortly before he shot himself through the chin. The circumstances surrounding his death being put on live TV led some critics to question the Los Angeles' media's practice of covering live car chases, which the Jones case was initially treated as by television reporters.

Timeline of the incident

According to The Los Angeles Times, three weeks prior to the incident, Jones told an anonymous friend that he had a growth coming out of his neck, which later turned out to be cancer. According to this friend, Jones felt that he was getting the runaround from his healthcare insurer. Jones's sister Janet also told the Associated Press that Jones's best friend revealed to her that her brother was HIV-positive.

At 3:00 p.m. on April 30, 1998, Jones drove his pickup truck to the transition loop between the Harbor and Century Freeways, accompanied by his dog. He stopped on the loop's carpool lane, and began aiming a shotgun at other passing cars, causing motorists to dial 911. Police responded immediately, and LAPD helicopters flew over the scene, while members of the LAPD's Special Weapons Team began to assemble. News helicopters from KNBC and KCBS also arrived on the scene to uncover the unfolding standoff.

Soon after the LAPD shut down the highway, Jones used his cellular phone to dial 911 himself. According to the dispatcher who received the call, "He was just rambling...He mentioned he was unhappy about HMOs" During his call, Jones fired several rounds, including one that tore a hole through the roof of the truck.

At 3:38, Jones pulled a videotape out of his knapsack, wrapped in clothing, before putting it back inside the knapsack and throwing it over the loop's median wall onto the freeway below. On the videotape, seen afterwards by police, Jones further expressed his resentment against HMOs and predicted his suicide. After disposing of the knapsack, he exited his vehicle and unfurled a banner onto the empty roadway reading, "HMO's ' are in it for the money. Live free, love safe or die."

Jones returned to his pickup truck, where he ignited a Molotov cocktail. The ensuing fire engulfed the pickup, and also burned Jones, who caught fire on his hair, pants, and socks. In pain, he peels off the charred socks and pants and then his underwear. Naked from the waist down, he approached the median wall as if considering to jump, making obscene gestures at the helicopters. After a moment, however, he walked away from the wall and returned to his truck, where he retrieved a shotgun. He leaned the shotgun on the median wall before placing the barrel at his chin and pulling the trigger, killing himself in a graphic fashion.

Aftermath

The fact that Jones's suicide was televised live caused considerable controversy, not only because of the graphic nature of the act, but because the incident occurred at a time when children were watching afternoon cartoons, which were interrupted at some stations to cover the soon-to-be grisly scene. The incident also called into question the journalistic merit of constantly covering high-speed car chases, which the news media in Los Angeles is famous for doing and which the Jones incident was initially thought of as.

Trivia

*The exact moment where Jones killed himself was put into a montage in Michael Moore's documentary Bowling for Columbine. The montage shows actual footage of murders and suicides committed with guns, including the infamous televised suicide of politician Budd Dwyer.

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