True Crime-Paranormal-Conspiracy Theories Stories Part V #Wattys2023

Death of Daniel V. Jones

Daniel Victor Jones (April 15,1958 – April 30, 1998) was an American man who committed suicide ona Los Angeles freeway in 1998. The incident was broadcast on livetelevision by news helicopters. Jones committed suicide as a form ofprotest towards health maintenance organizations after he had beendiagnosed as HIV-positive several months earlier. Footage of hissuicide was shown in the 2002 documentary film Bowling for Columbine.

Biography

Jones was born on April 15, 1958, andwas from Long Beach, California. He worked as a maintenance worker atthe Renaissance Hotel in Long Beach, a job he had been employed atsince 1995. He lived in a small two-bedroom bungalow off an alleywayin Long Beach. He lived alone with his pet dog Gladdis, aseven-year-old Labrador-whippet mixed-breed.

By April 1998, Jones was suffering fromboth HIV and cancer. His neighbors and fellow workers were unawarethat he had any health problems. Jones confided to a friend in earlyApril that he had found a flesh-colored growth on his neck. Thedoctors at first were unsure of its cause but later confirmed that itwas cancer. Jones believed he was being misled by his health insurerand also told his best friend that he was HIV-positive.

Death

Standpoint

By the end of April 1998, Jonesbelieved he was going to die and so he decided to take his own lifein a way that would draw publicity to his situation. He believed itwas no one's fault other than his own for getting himself into hissituation. Jones would later be quoted as saying, "I'm nothappy with what's happening to my situation and I'm going to drawattention to it whichever way I can. My paramount goal is for no oneother than myself to get hurt."

Suicide

On Thursday, April 30, 1998, around3:00 p.m., 40-year-old Jones parked his dark gray Toyota pickup truckon the transition loop from the Harbor Freeway (I-110) to the CenturyFreeway (I-105) in Los Angeles (33°55′53.1″N 118°16′50.1″W).He sat in the front of his truck with his dog Gladdis. He beganpointing a loaded shotgun at passing cars on the freeway, causingmotorists to report him to the police. Jones himself then called 911,revealing he was emotionally distraught about health maintenanceorganizations (HMOs) and the circumstances surrounding his HIV. Hesaid that he was in pain because of mistreatment by the HMO in whosecare he had been placed. He complained that it would take him a monthto schedule an appointment with a doctor and another month to get theresults of a test. As was confirmed later, aside from beingHIV-positive, Jones also suffered from cancer. During the call, hefired off several rounds from his shotgun, with one of them goingthrough the roof of his truck. Authorities then closed the twofreeways, preventing anyone from approaching him. Jones remained inhis truck the entire time, as police and news helicopters monitoredhis movements. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department SpecialWeapons Team began to assemble and got into position around him.Jones then reached into a backpack he owned and took out clothing anda videotape. He then began throwing the items over the freeway wall.Afterwards, he got out of the truck and walked across the emptyfreeway.

Jones unfurled a large, square bannerwith white hand-lettering that read: "HMO's are in it for themoney!! Live free, love safe or die." He had made the bannerspecifically for the occasion and displayed it for the newshelicopters to see. As it was fairly windy on the interstate at thetime, Jones weighted the banner down with a container to stop itblowing away. He continued to make obscene gestures and returned tohis truck several times to pet his dog. As authorities prepared tonegotiate with him, Jones suddenly returned to his truck and sat inthe front seat. Intending to take his own life, he ignited a Molotovcocktail inside his truck. The vehicle suddenly burst into flames andwas set ablaze. Jones got out of the vehicle however and ran acrossthe freeway as he was engulfed in flames and smoke, with his hair,pants and socks all on fire. He tried to pat out the flames andmanaged to peel off his pants. He then continued to wander aboutlooking dazed and disoriented. He walked to the edge of the freewaygesturing angrily. It appeared as if he was about to jump off thefreeway; however, he changed his mind and backed away from the edge,before returning to his blazing truck. Moments later, at around 3:50p.m., Jones retrieved his shotgun from the back of the truck and thenwalked back across the freeway. He placed the muzzle of the shotgunbeneath his chin, pulled the trigger and shot himself. He then fellto the ground with the cameras still rolling and playing the eventlive to viewers watching at home. As it was a Thursday afternoon, itwas witnessed by many children, whose after-school cartoons had beeninterrupted to broadcast the incident. Jones died 15 days after his40th birthday.\

Aftermath

The standoff between Jones and thepolice had lasted close to 50 minutes. Police were concerned thatthere was a bomb or multiple booby traps still inside the truck.Therefore, they hesitated to move in. The truck meanwhile continuedto burn with Jones's dog still trapped inside it. Eventually, policeapproached the truck and searched the inside of it. They found theremnants of several Molotov cocktails, a number of shotgun shells andthe charred remains of the dog, who had died in the fire.

During the standoff, Jones had thrown avideotape over the freeway wall. When recovered by the authorities,who viewed the video, it was discovered that it was a videotapedsuicide note recorded by Jones on the previous day. In the video, hesat on his couch next to his dog and said, "I'm not going tofight the disease. It has affected my neurological system. I'm notgoing to end up crazy." A police source who viewed the videosaid that Jones complained he was in pain. The videotape explainedJones's motivations and laid blame for his suicide. He reportedlysays in the video, "I'm a dead man," and signs offby declaring, "See ya!".

Criticism of live broadcasting

Because Jones's suicide was witnessedby children, many criticized the Los Angeles television stations'practice of airing police pursuits live. The incident prompted a waveof criticism about live news broadcasts, proposing changes in the waythey were handled in the future. A total of seven television stationsbroadcast Jones's suicide live. Both KTLA channel 5 and KTTV channel11 had interrupted children's programming to cover the suicide, whileKNBC channel 4 had interrupted The Rosie O'Donnell Show. Both KNBCand KTLA had their cameras tightest on the coverage and so viewerswere able to see the graphic suicide in close detail. KNBC issued anapology saying, "We did not anticipate this man's actions intime to cut away, and we deeply regret that any of our viewers sawthis tragedy on our air." The station, as well as the FoxBroadcasting affiliate, offered viewers numbers they could call forcounseling. KTLA also released a statement saying, "KTLAshares with its viewers their distress."

KCBS-TV channel 2 moved to a wide shotbefore Jones took his life because they were reportedly concernedover his erratic behavior. The channel brought a psychologist intothe studio later that day to hold a live discussion regardingdistressing live media coverage. They later released a statementsaying, "This is the danger of live television, you've got tobe on your toes, and you have to be ready to pull back immediately."KCAL-TV channel 9 reportedly received an estimated 120 calls duringthe broadcast prior to Jones even taking his life, requesting thestation to cut away from the story before things got out of hand.

In popular culture

The footage of Jones's suicide has beenshown in many documentaries outlining the incident. It appeared inMichael Moore's 2002 documentary film Bowling for Columbine.