Special to the Times
WEST CHESTER – Authorities said drinks fans purchased for reality TV and movie star Ryan Dunn at a bar just before closing time likely spiked Dunn’s blood alcohol content (BAC) shortly before he crashed his Porsche, killing himself and his passenger.
State Police Liquor Control Enforcement Sgt. William La Torre said Thursday that an investigation, which included interviewing bar employees, patrons, fans and a friend who was with Dunn and his passenger Zachary D. Hartwell that night, revealed Barnaby’s of America did not over serve a visibly intoxicated patron.
Bar surveillance video did not show Dunn to be visibly drunk and interviews with multiple witnesses said at no point did Dunn appear intoxicated, La Torre said.
The investigation revealed that the outdoor patio bartender knowingly served Dunn two beers and six shots during just under four hours. The bartender was unaware that fans also purchased drinks for the star, police said. Dunn, Hartwell and a third local friend were at the bar between about 10:30 p.m. and 2:30 a.m., La Torre said.
The bill for the Dunn and his friends matched interviews with the bartender and others with Dunn Sunday night, La Torre said. At the same time, the two beers and six shots served to Dunn did not equate to the 0.196 BAC (twice the legal limit) Dunn had at the time of the crash, La Torre said. Further investigation showed that fans purchased Dunn one beer two additional shots before 2 a.m., La Torre said.
The drinks Dunn consumed just before closing time likely “spiked Dunn’s blood alcohol level,” La Torre said.
The drinks from fans hiked Dunn’s total alcohol consumption to three beers and eight shots over roughly four hours, which La Torre said would equate to a BAC of about 0.19 for Dunn’s weight.
La Torre said there are two reasons Dunn likely did not appear visibly intoxicated before leaving to bar. First, according to people who knew him, Dunn had a high tolerance for alcohol, he said. Second, Dunn reportedly did not consume any food while he was drinking.
Additionally, La Torre said, in general an alcoholic drink takes roughly 30 minutes to affect a person, which would have been about the time the crash occurred.
“His BAC was likely on its way up at the time of the crash given the drinks he consumed at the end of the night,” La Torre said.
Fans purchased the drinks for Dunn while he was at a secluded patio table out of sight of the bartender, La Torre said.
The LCE also determined rumors Dunn went to other bars in the borough the same night are false.
Dunn and Hartwell’s final hours were as follows, according to investigators:
A friend of Dunn’s reportedly sent Dunn a text Sunday night asking where they and Hartwell should meet. The men decided on Barnaby’s patio. The night was intended to be an opportunity for the three men to get together and bond as “brothers.”
“It was a very brotherly, stoic type of evening that they had between the three of them,” La Torre said. “(Dunn) was a happy guy that night. He was happy to have a night with his friends.”
Surveillance video showed Dunn, 34, of West Chester, entering the bar and “there were no signs of intoxication,” La Torre said.
The friend meeting Dunn and Hartwell, 30, of West Chester, had arrived to the bar first and started a tab about 10:30 p.m., La Torre said. Later in the night, Dunn quietly went over and paid cash for the tab as a kind gesture for his friends.
Most of the time, the men stood at the bar. At one point, two other men, who were acquaintances to the three, joined the group.
Throughout the night, Dunn was cordial with fans and posed for multiple pictures with them. Police reportedly obtained all of the original photos taken and interviewed those in the photos with Dunn. All told police Dunn was not visibly intoxicated, La Torre said.
The infamous Twitter photo that Dunn posted roughly two hours before the crash shows Dunn, Hartwell and their friend at Barnaby’s. La Torre said the outdoor bartender took the photo. While preparing to take the photo, the bartender reportedly asked Dunn to look into the camera, but Dunn continued to look down.
“He intentionally posed that way for the picture,” La Torre said.
The surveillance video showed Dunn “kind of disappear” at one point, which is when he moved to a secluded patio table with his buddies. At that point, the bartender assumed he had left the establishment. It wasn’t until around closing time when the bartender learned Dunn was still at the bar at which point she asked to pose in a picture with him. Dunn obliged.
Dunn was reportedly driving his 2007 Porsche at 2:38 a.m. on the Route 322 bypass in the area Pottstown Pike when the vehicle veered off the roadway and burst into flames, according to a statement issued by West Goshen police. Police said he was traveling between 132 and 140 mph at the time of the crash.
