Plastic Surgeon Killed Texting While Driving

Texting while driving caused Hollywood plastic surgeon Dr. Frank Ryan's fatal accident on the Pacific Coast Highway, his ex-girlfriend told People magazine.

"He lived up in Malibu on a tiny street and he was texting while driving, and he accidentally went over the cliff," Charmaine Blake said.

She said Ryan's family was told by investigators that his texting contributed to his death.

California Highway Patrol confirmed to People that Ryan, 50, was texting before the crash, but would not say it caused the accident.

"It is one of the elements that we are investigating," CHP Officer Steven Reid said.

Minutes before his crash, Ryan had Tweeted: "After 25 years of driving by, I finally hiked to the top of the giant sand dune on the pch west of Malibu. Much harder than it looks! Whew! ... Border collie jill surveying the view from atop the sand dune."

He also Tweeted a photo of his dog on the dune.

Emergency responders attempted to remove him from vehicle, but were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His dog Jill was thrown from the vehicle and found in the ocean. She suffered serious injuries to her head, paw and eye and was later released to a member of Dr. Ryan's ranch staff, TMZ reported..

Ryan was a staple in Hollywood, working on countless celebrities including Janice Dickinson, Adrianne Curry, Shauna Sand and Gene Simmons.

But it was his work with MTV reality star Montag that earned him notoriety; he completely (and publicly) transformed the troubled celebrity's looks. Performing 10 procedures in one day, Ryan gave Montag a mini brow lift, Botox, a nose job, a "back scoop," liposuction and an ear pinning, among other alterations.

Thrown Bar Mug Leaves Innocent Bystander Dead

A 23 year old New York man, an innocent bystander, was killed after a bizarre barroom incident across the street from Boston's Fenway Park.

Friends and family say the man just went to the Landsdowne Pub on Friday to see some college friends.

The six-month Wall Street employee hadn't had much time off during the summer, so his boss let him take off Friday to join friends from his college days in Connecticut in Boston.

They gathered at the Landsdowne Pub, but just after midnight shards of glass from a thrown mug hit him and two friends, police said, severing his jugular vein. Police said the man didn't even know the suspect who had been arrested for throwing the glass.

"He didn't know this guy. He didn’t say a word to this guy. There was no indication that he was involved in anything," the victim's father said.

From behind a closed courtroom door, Hector Guardiola, 25, of South Boston, was charged with manslaughter and released on $75,000 bail.

"Mr. Guardiola and two other bar patrons, apparently strangers, had a confrontation over apparently something trivial which escalated to a thrown mug," a prosecutor said.

The victim's two friends, including his former college roommate are recovering from their injuries.

From thebostonchannel.com

Car Collapses on Queens Man During Repairs

A Toyota Celica slipped off a shaky jack and killed a 42 year-old Queens man while he worked on the car in his garage.

From NY Daily News

Finalist dies at World Sauna event in Finland

A test of endurance proved fatal for one Russian man.

The finalist at the World Sauna Championships died on Sunday in Finland after suffering burns from exposure to the steam's extreme heat.

Vladimir Ladyzhensky (left in photo) was facing off against Timo Kaukonen when both men collapsed about six minutes into the final round of the annual competition.

The pair suffered severe burns, but Ladyzhensky later died. The exact cause is unknown pending an investigation.

The contest held in Heinola has been suspended, as investigators look into how the endurance competition was handled.

Organizers insist they did everything by the book.

"All the rules were followed and there were enough first aid personnel," Ossi Arvela, who heads the sauna contest, told reporters. "All the competitors needed to sign in to the competition with a doctor's certificate."

Participants must endure 230 degrees Fahrenheit in a sauna, and the last person remaining wins. Half a liter of water is added to the hot stove every 30 seconds to maintain the heat.

"I know this is very hard to understand to people outside Finland who are not familiar with the sauna habit," he said. "It is not so unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna. A lot of competitors before have sat in higher temperatures than that."

More than 130 competitors from 15 countries took part in the event, which started in 1999. Because of the fatality, the competition will likely never be held again, organizers said.

from BBC News