Dr. Frank Ryan, Celebrity Plastic Surgeon, Dies when Car Goes Over Cliff

"Plastic surgeon to the stars" Dr. Frank Ryan, 50, died when his car went off a cliff on the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu Monday afternoon, August 16th. The California Highway Patrol reported that Ryan's Jeep Wrangler veered off the highway and overturned on a rocky embankment that led to the ocean, landing on its roof. Despite efforts by nearby lifeguards and the Ventura County Fire Department, who tried lifting him by helicopter, Ryan was pronounced dead at the scene. No cause of death has been established pending an autopsy, but it is reported that Ryan suffered massive head injuries. Ryan's dog was with him, and found in the ocean seriously injured.

Ryan made his fame by treating or performing cosmetic surgery on the likes of Heidi Montag, Oscar De La Hoya, musician Vince Neil, actor Lorenzo Lamas, reality stars Lisa Gastineau and Adrianne Curry, Gene Simmons, Shauna Sand and Adrianne Curry.

Ryan had evidently just hiked a sand dune with his dog and was texting about it. Minutes before the crash, he had posted two message. The first, "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! 5:45 PM Aug 16th via Twitter for BlackBerry." The last message posted a picture of his dog and the message, "Border collie jill surveying the view from atop the sand dune 6:10 PM Aug 16th via Twitter for BlackBerry."

The people who knew him were devastated, singing his praises as a genius, a talented, brilliant surgeon. So why did this genius, brilliant surgeon think texting while driving on a winding cliff side road was such a good idea? I have been on the Pacific Coast Highway. If you take your eyes off the road for one second in many places, you're a dead person. Was he texting when he went over the cliff? We may never know, but the fact that he had just posted two messages, minutes before the crash, begs the question.

The point of this piece is not to mourn the senseless death of a brilliant surgeon, it's to show all those people out there who think driving while texting, tweeting or on the cell phone is no big deal. It IS a big deal! You not only put yourself at risk, you put others on the road at risk as well.

Dr. Ryan was undoubtedly a wonderful person, establishing charitable foundations and hosting camps for children at Malibu's Bony Pony Ranch. He had a brilliant future ahead of him, and he wanted for nothing. And now, his family will have to bury this shining star, perhaps because of one stupid decision on his part.

Source: TMZ; ABCLocal