Posted on August 20, 2010 by Fiona Hilliard

It has emerged today that Dr. Frank Ryan, plastic surgeon to the stars died tragically on Monday while tweeting and driving.

In recent months Dr. Ryan grabbed headlines when he admitted to performing 10 surgical procedures in one day on MTV’s The Hills star Heidi Montag.

California Highway Patrol (CHP) say Ryan (50) was driving his 1995 Jeep Wrangler on the Pacific Coast Highway, when the SUV verged off the side of the roadway.

Ryan was killed in the accident, but his dog, a border collie survived, sustaining serious injuries.

The doctor’s last Tweet was posted at 4:10 pm, around 30 minutes before the accident took place.

Poignantly, the tweet featured a picture of his dog looking out at the ocean, with the words “Border collie jill surveying the view from atop the sand dune.”

Investigations are continuing into the case.

Tweeting is just the latest distraction to hit drivers.  As mobile phones become more and more like mini laptops, it’s only a matter of time before harsher legislation is introduced…