February 19, 2004

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Kansas City comedian posted pictures on his Web site that poke fun at those who have died in traffic accidents along highways. For most people, crosses along highways are somber reminders of traffic deaths. But Jason Curless calls the crosses high comedy, KMBC's Jeremy Hubbard reported.

Sheila Dyer didn't find Curless' site funny. She found a picture of her dead son's roadside memorial on the site, with the comedian smiling and waving next to it. She said it "took the wind" out of her.

Dozens of similar pictures are posted on Curless' site. The standup comic travels across the area, posing at the shrines and posting the pictures online. Curless apparently considers them to be tasteless tributes, often writing mock obituaries that lambast the way in which the victims died.

"Can you imagine anyone who would think that was funny? No. If there are, they're sick," Dyer said.

Her 21-year-old son was killed by a drunken driver (file photo, right). Now, Mothers Against Drunken Drivers is banding with Dyer to see if something legally can be done to take the comedian's Web site down.

However, that might not be easy to do. While Dyer may consider the site in bad taste, a court could consider it free speech, Hubbard reported.

The site remains online. Curless declined to speak with KMBC.