Los Angeles: Crash turns rare [as in $1m] Ferrari into scrap

News.Com.AU ^ | February 22, 2006 | staff writer

[yankeedame]

Crash turns rare Ferrari into scrap

From: Agence France-Presse
From correspondents in Los Angeles
February 22, 2006

A RARE $US1 million ($A1.36 million) Ferrari sports car belonging to a Swedish game industry mogul slammed into a pole during a high-speed street race today, reducing it to scrap metal, US police said.

Police in the plush Los Angeles district of Malibu said the 2003 Ferrari Enzo, only 399 of which were made, was owned by Stefan Eriksson, 44, a controversial former executive of the failed handheld gaming company Gizmondo. The driver lost control of the Ferrari about dawn when it careened up an embankment, probably became airborne and then slammed into a pole, slicing the vehicle in half, police said.

Mr Eriksson, who was slightly injured in the crash, told police he was a passenger in the vehicle and that the driver was a German man called Dietrich who had fled the scene, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Sergeant Philip Brooks said.

"Whoever was driving the Ferrari and a Mercedes came out to Malibu for a little race," Sheriff's Department Sergeant Philip Brooks said.

"The other car racing was a ($677,500) SLR Mercedes," he said.

Advertisement: Mr Eriksson had a blood-alcohol level of 0.09, which is above the legal limit, Sgt Brooks said. Nobody had been arrested in connection with the crash,but officers were still seeking to identify the driver of the car, he said. "He's still considered as the passenger," Sgt Brooks said of Mr Eriksson. "We're continuing our investigation. He's not in custody."

The red Ferrari Enzo, other examples of which are owned by such high-flyers as Oscar-winning movie star Nicolas Cage and US fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger, was speeding at more than 192km/h when the crash occurred, Sgt Brooks said.

The impact sheared the red Italian sports car in two, separating the entire front section from the rest of the vehicle.

The 650-horsepower car had a top speed of more than 360km/h.

"For a million dollars, you get a very good passenger-safety system, and apparently, in this case, it did work," Brooks said.

===================

2003 Ferrari Enzo

2003 Ferrari Enzo

2003 Ferrari Enzo

2003 Ferrari Enzo

[xsrdx]

The "winner", or at least the only survivor

Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Mr Eriksson, who was slightly injured in the crash, told police he was a passenger in the vehicle and that the driver was a German man called Dietrich who had fled the scene, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Sergeant Philip Brooks said.

THAT'S a good one.

[Jeff Head]

Uhhh, officer, I wasn't driving. I SWEAR I wasn't driving. This guy Dietrich was driving and he ran off.

[xsrdx]

The lesson here MIGHT be, don't drink and race 600hp supercars.

Ya think?

[coloradan]

To his credit, they did find footprints from the car headed up the embankment.

[FreePaul]

...told police he was a passenger in the vehicle...

Most people would be making that statement from a jail cell. I sure hope Dietrich turns himself in so we can clear this up. Maybe they are still trying to find someone willing to be Dietrich.

[Psycho_Bunny]

I test drove a 2006 Mercedes CLK500 last Monday.

All I can say about it is "How the mighty have fallen."

 

[commish]

YOu can see video of the aftermath of the crash HERE

Authorities are still looking for the Mercedes and also "Dietrich"

[Anti-Bubba182]

Damn shame! I can't even work up some schadenfreude on this one!

[Falcon4.0]

"the driver was a German man called Dietrich who had fled the scene,"

I wouldn't let my wife drive my 1 million dollar car, let alone sum German putz.

[metmom]

Those who play, pay.

[Draco]

"Mr Eriksson ... told police he was a passenger in the vehicle and that the driver was a German man called Dietrich who had fled the scene ...."

THAT'S a good one.

This won't be the first time the judge hears that.

[elli1]

THAT'S a good one.

Nah...it's just a slightly different version of 'The Dog Ate My Homework.' :)

[lawgirl]

Oh thank god it's a newer model- I thought it might be vintage which really would have been a tragedy.

[Aquinasfan]

"My Maserati does one-eighty-five
I lost my license, now I don't drive"

--Joe Walsh

[commish]

To his credit, they did find footprints from the car headed up the embankment.

Also, the passenger side Airbag is deployed. most vehicles have a sensor that tells the car whether or not someone is in the passenger seat.

These two facts, Footprints leading away from the car, and the deployed airbag lend creedance to the story that their was at least a passenger in the car.

[starfish923]

Mr Eriksson, who was slightly injured in the crash, told police he was a passenger in the vehicle and that the driver was a German man called Dietrich who had fled the scene, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Sergeant Philip Brooks said.

Yeah, those dirty ole Germans are ALWAYS to blame. :o)

WHAT a waste of nice cars.

[xsrdx]

All I can say about it is "How the mighty have fallen."

Seems like modern lux/sport sedans are a bit over-gadgeted.

M-B COMAND and BMW I-Drive both seem to usurp control from the driver. Not to mention MB's drive by wire brakes.

I'll hang on to my E39 5'er for a few more years methinks...

[WV Mountain Mama]

"Yes, officer. I have a car worth $1,000,000 and I let some german guy, I think his name was Dietrich, drive. What do you mean, you don't believe me? I tried as hard as I could to say it with a straight face!"