Prominent lawyer and philanthropist John O'Quinn and his assistant died in a car accident Thursday morning. Driving west on Allen Parkway, the black Suburban O'Quinn was driving lost control, skidding over the median and across oncoming traffic into a tree.
O'Quinn rose from humble origins as the son of a car garage owner to become one of the city's most successful and controversial attorneys, winning multi-billion dollar settlements against the tobacco industry and against Wyeth Pharmaceutical over its diet drug fen-phen. O'Quinn was a prolific car collector, reported to own 618 vehicles worth over $100 million, including a car once owned by Pope John Paul II, seven Duesenbergs, a 1937 Bugatti and a 1911 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost featured in the film Titanic.