Boston Legal Star Justin Mentell Dead at 27
Posted on Feb 02, 2010 @ 03:30PM
Former Boston Legal star Justin Mentell may have fallen asleep at the wheel of his Jeep, just seconds before his vehicle plunged down an embankment and crashed into two trees near Madison, Wisconsin on Monday, killing the young actor, police told RadarOnline.com Tuesday.
“His mother believes that he may have fallen asleep at the wheel just prior to the accident," Iowa County Sheriff's Dept. Sgt. Daniel Carey told RadarOnline.com exclusively.
“We don’t believe that alcohol was a factor in the incident. There was no evidence of that here," Carey said. “It is possible that Mr. Mentell fell asleep at the wheel, as his mother told us that he liked to take long drives on his own and the area he crashed was pretty secluded. There was some snow lying on the surrounding areas, [but] the road conditions were clear and dry, so, they would not have been a contributing factor either.
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“The coroner will be doing the usual blood tests to see if there were any drugs in his system," Carey said, "but at this point we are just treating it as a tragic accident."
The official police report revealed that Mentell was not wearing his seatbelt when the car plunged off the embankment, and struck the trees on Moscow Road outside the town of Moscow in Iowa County, Wisconsin.
Although the airbag was deployed, Mentell was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.
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"He will be greatly missed. He had so much to live for,” his close friend and neighbor of eleven years Sharon Yap told RadarOnline.com. She remembers Mentell as a kind person who was also great around kids.
“It’s very tragic. He was a very sweet and lighthearted person. He loves kids. I have two little boys here and he loved to paint with them. He loved abstract art.”
Mentell left behind his beloved German Shepard dog Jermaine, his mother Alicia, and a girlfriend who lives in California who was scheduled to visit him shortly.
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“Alicia is absolutely devastated,” Yap said. “This was her only son.” Yap expects the funeral service to happen in Texas, where the actor is from, over the weekend.
His latest film was the family friendly Disney movie, G-Force. Other projects the actor had been involved in during his acting career included Palo Alto, ’77, Roll Bounce, At the Still Point, and Gothan, IL.
As well as being a talented actor, Mentell was also a promising speed skater during his high school days in Waukegan, placing third in the Junior Olympics and later becoming a member of the U.S. Speedskating’s Junior National speed skating long track team.
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He was also an accomplished musician, playing the drums in college.
Mentell was an avid traveler, having been to 25 countries in his prematurely-cut short life, according to imdb.com.
He was also an intellectual free spirit, evidenced by a quote he once gave, according to the Web site: "Being happy today isn't the same as being happy was in the 40s or 50s. Today's society has distorted what happiness is, making it more of a band wagon thing driven by money, materialism, or who has accomplished more of this or that.
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"Being happy isn't about accomplishing the most," he said. "It's knowing that with anything you do no matter how big or small, you changed someone's life. Their thoughts, ideas or beliefs, enabling them to see through the grim fog that today's society has evolved into and finding the real purpose of life."
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Wow, what a shame! Seatbelts really do save lives, too. My sister's friend died in a similar accident because he wasn't belted in, while the rest of his family survived (they did have belts on.)
Posted Tue, 02/02/2010 - 7:30pm
This is good it thins the heard, Sill moron
Posted Tue, 02/02/2010 - 2:21pm
Did you miss the little yellow bus this morning? Only a total idiot would say something like that. And FYI, the word is "herd"!
Posted Tue, 02/02/2010 - 4:00pm
rolm How old are you? YOU SOUND LIKE A MORON SAYING SUCH THINGS!!!!!! go back to your crib or joint what ever it is or maybe your rock!!!!!!
Posted Tue, 02/02/2010 - 3:56pm
it is so sad that someone so young died so soon.wearing your seatbelt can save your life.if only
he would of worn his he might still be here. r.i.p.
Posted Tue, 02/02/2010 - 2:10pm
Watching the local news here and the farmer who found him said he was covered in snow and had been there awhile. I must have happened late last night and they found him this morning. State Hwy 39 takes you off campus. SAD!!!
Posted Tue, 02/02/2010 - 1:57pm
So sad! The words "ejected from the car" don't really convey just how catastrophic it is when that happens. Wear your seat belts!!
Posted Tue, 02/02/2010 - 1:53pm
How sad when anyone dies but especially someone so young and with his whole life ahead of him...I feel for his family and hopefully this will make people put their seat belt on..
Posted Tue, 02/02/2010 - 1:52pm
I would bet more people would be saved with it on rather than off. I personally would take my chances with it on.
Posted Tue, 02/02/2010 - 1:43pm
I agree. Wear your seatbelt! I guess I'm trying to wrap my mind around how/why such a young talented actor/person dies in an accident that many people I know have been in and survived. Spinning off the road happens a lot here. :(
Posted Tue, 02/02/2010 - 1:54pm