Was Plastic Surgeon Texting in Car Before Fatal Crash?

Dr. Frank Ryan and Heidi Montag
Frazer Harrison/Getty; Pacific Coast News

Dr. Frank Ryan, plastic surgeon to Heidi Montag and other celebrities, was sending a Twitter message about his border collie just before his fatal car accident, his ex-girlfriend tells PEOPLE.

"He lived up in Malibu on a tiny street and he was texting while driving and he accidentally went over the cliff," Charmaine Blake says.

Blake, a celebrity publicist, says Ryan's family was told by investigators that the Tweeting caused the wreck on Monday.

The dog, whose name is Jill – Blake's middle name – was in the car at the time of the crash and survived injuries to the head, eye and paw.

The California Highway Patrol confirms Ryan was texting before the crash, but investigators have not officially determined the cause of the accident.

"It is one of the elements that we are investigating," CHP Officer Steven Reid says.

Blake says she lived with Ryan from 2003 to 2006. After breaking up, they remained close and Ryan was also helping support her, says Blake.

"It was the only serious relationship I ever had and he was the love of my life," Blake, 29, says. "It was hard for us to stay away from each other."

She adds that she hopes other people learn from this tragedy that "people should not text and drive at all."

Dr. Laura Schlessinger to end radio show when her contract expires

Dr. Laura Schlessinger told CNN’s Larry King on Tuesday night that she will end her radio show following outrage over her use of the N-word last week. She told King her contract is up after this year and that she will not renew it. She said she wants to “regain my First Amendment rights” and that she is not ending her career, just her radio show.

After using the racial epithet several times with a caller last Tuesday, Schlessinger posted an apology to her website and repeated it during a subsequent broadcast. She told King that after doing radio for more than 30 years, ”I want to be able to say what’s on my mind and in my heart and what I think is helpful and useful without somebody getting angry or some special-interest group deciding this is a time to silence a voice of dissent.”

Schlessinger went on to say that radio has changed and that any kind of back and forth has ”been usurped by angry, hateful groups who don’t want to debate — they want to eliminate…. I decided it was time to move on to other venues where I could say my peace and not have to live in fear anymore.”

Schlessinger is syndicated by Talk Radio Network, which refers to her as ”the most listened-to women in radio broadcasting history.” According to Talkers Magazine, the Dr. Laura program is tied as the third-most-popular radio show in the nation (along with Glenn Beck and Michael Savage), with over 9 million weekly listeners. In August, she was nominated for the Marconi Award for network/syndicated personality of the year, which she received back in 1997.

Her flagship station is KFWB in Los Angeles.