Tara Browne, the heir to the Guinness fortune was the guy who "blew his mind out in a car" in the Beatles song "A Day in the Life" on Dec 18, 1966. He was driving a Lotus Elan supposedly over 100 mph under the influence of drugs and alcohol. John Lennon was a friend of his. His girlfriend Suki Potier claimed that Browne swerved the car to direct the impact away from her to save her life.