Daniel V. Jones

Who was Daniel V. Jones?

Daniel Victor Jones was a former maintenance worker at a hotel in Long Beach, California, who is infamous for committing suicide in the middle of a busy Los Angeles transition loop between the Harbor and Century Freeways on live television on April 30, 1998. The supposed cause of his suicide was his resentment at his HMO for apparently inadequately treating him for his cancer and HIV infection, as evidenced by a videotape and a phone call he made and a banner he presented shortly before he shot himself through the chin. The circumstances surrounding his death being put on live TV led some critics to question the Los Angeles' media's practice of covering live car chases, which the Jones case was initially treated as by television reporters. According to The Los Angeles Times, three weeks prior to the incident, Jones told an anonymous friend that he had a growth coming out of his neck, which later turned out to be cancer. According to this friend, Jones felt that he was getting the runaround from his healthcare insurer. Jones's sister Janet also told the Associated Press that Jones's best friend revealed to her that her brother was HIV-positive. At 3:00 p.m. on April 30, 1998