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By Josh Grossberg and Katie Rhames
updated 6/26/2011 3:09:02 AM ET
Ryan Dunn's tragic death in a fiery car crash shocked many of his "Jackass" costars, fans and friends, but none more so than Thaddeus Kalinoski, who was one of the last people to see him alive.
Kalinoski and the daredevil comedian were old friends who hadn't seen each other in years, but as luck would have it, the two bumped into each other Sunday night at Barnaby's bar, a local watering hole in West Chester, Pa., and caught up over a few drinks.
In an exclusive interview with E! News, Dunn's acquaintance opens up about Dunn's final hours and his feelings on the high speed wreck that killed him and his passenger, Zachary Hartwell.
Kalinoski was sitting outside on the patio when he recognized Ryan who had just entered the bar in "good spirits." So he walked up and said hello and two hung out like old times.
"I didn't see anything abnormal," Thaddeus tells E! "I wasn't counting how much he was drinking. I did remember four shots but as far as the beer goes, I don't know exactly how many beers he had."
According to police, the Proving Ground cohost left Barnaby's with a blood-alcohol level of 0.196, more than twice the state's legal limit. Not long after, he drove his Porsche close to 140 miles per hour before losing control of the vehicle, smashing through a guardrail and hitting a line of trees. Preliminary autopsy results indicate that both men died as the result of blunt force trauma and thermal trauma from the ensuing fire.
Subsequently, some media outlets claimed Dunn and crew partied for five hours, but Kalinoski disputes that timeline, recalling it was more like two.
"Reports were saying five hours which is ludicrous. It was maybe two hours," he says. "He was the same person as he came in and as he left he was in good spirits, just really happy to be there with his friends."
Kalinoski also adamantly dismisses speculation that the reality star was on a mission to get drunk.
"Absolutely not," he tells us. "It was a Sunday night. He came in with. . .two other guys, one being Zach...[it was just] guys at the bar drinking, relaxing, having a couple of drinks. That is all it was."
Thaddeus noted that there was no need for anyone to "step in" and tell Ryan "to slow down" as he was behaving just fine.
As for what they talked about, Kalinoski tells E! they discussed the last time they saw each other in Baltimore in 2006, where Kalinoski was managing a hotel.
"I told him how great he was with my staff at the hotel," the Pennsylvania native remembers. "We talked about his new show he was really excited about that, his new house and then we started talking about skate boarding and he mentioned he started talking about Bam [Margera] and how proud he was of hm as a skateboarder."
Kalinoski also talked to Zach, as the two shared a mutual friend, and adds that there was nothing out of the ordinary about Hartwell's behavior.
Kalinosky eventually bid them goodbye and left the bar before they did, only to learn about their horrible fate the next morning.
"When I heard it the next day, I didn't believe it. I didn't even think it was real," he tells E! adding that in hindsight, he wished he could "go back and tell [Ryan] to stop, but it was just people out at a bar having drinks."
While not knowing Dunn as well as his close friends and family, Kalinoski says he hopes his recollections might help get across to people that Ryan was really a "good soul" who was "excited for the future."
A private service was held for Dunn on Wednesday with his burial reportedly set to take place in his native Ohio. No word yet on a public memorial.
updated 6/26/2011 3:09:02 AM ET
Ryan Dunn's tragic death in a fiery car crash shocked many of his "Jackass" costars, fans and friends, but none more so than Thaddeus Kalinoski, who was one of the last people to see him alive.
Kalinoski and the daredevil comedian were old friends who hadn't seen each other in years, but as luck would have it, the two bumped into each other Sunday night at Barnaby's bar, a local watering hole in West Chester, Pa., and caught up over a few drinks.
In an exclusive interview with E! News, Dunn's acquaintance opens up about Dunn's final hours and his feelings on the high speed wreck that killed him and his passenger, Zachary Hartwell.
Kalinoski was sitting outside on the patio when he recognized Ryan who had just entered the bar in "good spirits." So he walked up and said hello and two hung out like old times.
"I didn't see anything abnormal," Thaddeus tells E! "I wasn't counting how much he was drinking. I did remember four shots but as far as the beer goes, I don't know exactly how many beers he had."
According to police, the Proving Ground cohost left Barnaby's with a blood-alcohol level of 0.196, more than twice the state's legal limit. Not long after, he drove his Porsche close to 140 miles per hour before losing control of the vehicle, smashing through a guardrail and hitting a line of trees. Preliminary autopsy results indicate that both men died as the result of blunt force trauma and thermal trauma from the ensuing fire.
Subsequently, some media outlets claimed Dunn and crew partied for five hours, but Kalinoski disputes that timeline, recalling it was more like two.
"Reports were saying five hours which is ludicrous. It was maybe two hours," he says. "He was the same person as he came in and as he left he was in good spirits, just really happy to be there with his friends."
Kalinoski also adamantly dismisses speculation that the reality star was on a mission to get drunk.
"Absolutely not," he tells us. "It was a Sunday night. He came in with. . .two other guys, one being Zach...[it was just] guys at the bar drinking, relaxing, having a couple of drinks. That is all it was."
Thaddeus noted that there was no need for anyone to "step in" and tell Ryan "to slow down" as he was behaving just fine.
As for what they talked about, Kalinoski tells E! they discussed the last time they saw each other in Baltimore in 2006, where Kalinoski was managing a hotel.
"I told him how great he was with my staff at the hotel," the Pennsylvania native remembers. "We talked about his new show he was really excited about that, his new house and then we started talking about skate boarding and he mentioned he started talking about Bam [Margera] and how proud he was of hm as a skateboarder."
Kalinoski also talked to Zach, as the two shared a mutual friend, and adds that there was nothing out of the ordinary about Hartwell's behavior.
Kalinosky eventually bid them goodbye and left the bar before they did, only to learn about their horrible fate the next morning.
"When I heard it the next day, I didn't believe it. I didn't even think it was real," he tells E! adding that in hindsight, he wished he could "go back and tell [Ryan] to stop, but it was just people out at a bar having drinks."
While not knowing Dunn as well as his close friends and family, Kalinoski says he hopes his recollections might help get across to people that Ryan was really a "good soul" who was "excited for the future."
A private service was held for Dunn on Wednesday with his burial reportedly set to take place in his native Ohio. No word yet on a public memorial.
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