June 29, 1967
34-year-old actress and sex-symbol, Jayne Mansfield, is killed in a car accident when the car she was riding in ran under the back of a slow-moving tractor-trailer, chopping off the top of her car. She and the two other front seat passengers were killed instantly. Three of her children who were riding in the back seat survived the crash. As a result of this crash, the NHTSA recommended requiring an underride guard on the back of tractor-trailers to stop cars from going underneath. This bar has become known as a “Mansfield bar”.
Mansfield was regarded as the world’s most-photographed Hollywood celebrity and is still one of the most recognized icons of the 1950s.