About

The Crash Wasn't Your Fault is a series of image macros featuring characters who hallucinate or dream conversations with a deceased friend or family member who tells them to forgive themselves for surviving a car accident years prior.

Origin

On June 20th, 2016, The Philosopher's Meme Facebook^[1] page posted a variation of the Sweet Jesus, Pooh comic in which the character Tigger awakens from a nightmare in which Pooh tells him "You need to let me go Tigger" and "The crash was an accident" (shown below).

Precursor

The series may have been inspired by the final scene in Season 4 Episode 14 "My Screw Up" of the American sitcom Scrubs, in which it is revealed that the character Dr. Perry Cox (played by John C. McGinley), had been hallucinating his deceased friend Ben Sullivan (played by Brendan Fraser) as if he were alive.

Spread

On July 22nd, 2017, Redditor urineall posted a comic in which a father's son disappears after saying "You need to let me go. The accident wasn't your fault" (shown below, left). On July 29th, Instagram user thermite.mp4^[4] posted an Ideal GF illustration featuring a character labeled "Ghost GF" with the captions "you have to let me go" and "anon the crash wasn't your fault" (shown below, right).

On October 20th, Twitter user @IllegalOpinion^[2] posted a Virgin vs. Chad comic in which the character Chad wakes up in bed after having a dream in which his deceased friend Daniel tells him to "let me go" and "the crash was 10 years ago it wasn't your fault" (shown below). Within two months, the tweet gathered more than 2,800 likes and 1/230 retweets

On December 1st, Twitter user Eliza Skinterklaas‏ account posted a joke featuring a mock dialogue in which a man asking to watch Netflix is told "Gary u have to let go. The accident wasn't your fault" (shown below).^[3]

Search Interest

External References