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Los Angeles: Crash turns rare [as in $1m] Ferrari into scrap
News.Com.AU ^ | February 22, 2006 | staff writer

Posted on 02/22/2006 5:58:52 AM PST by 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


TOPICS: Local News
KEYWORDS: ferrari; stefaneriksson
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1 posted on 02/22/2006 5:58:53 AM PST by yankeedame
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To: yankeedame
The "winner", or at least the only survivor

Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren

2 posted on 02/22/2006 6:04:44 AM PST by xsrdx (Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas)
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To: yankeedame
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.

3 posted on 02/22/2006 6:05:12 AM PST by PBRSTREETGANG
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To: yankeedame
Uhhh, officer, I wasn't driving. I SWEAR I wasn't driving. This guy Dietrich was driving and he ran off.
4 posted on 02/22/2006 6:07:02 AM PST by Jeff Head (www.dragonsfuryseries.com)
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To: yankeedame
The lesson here MIGHT be, don't drink and race 600hp supercars.

Ya think?

5 posted on 02/22/2006 6:07:36 AM PST by xsrdx (Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas)
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To: Jeff Head

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


6 posted on 02/22/2006 6:09:10 AM PST by coloradan (Failing to protect the liberties of your enemies establishes precedents that will reach to yourself.)
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To: yankeedame
...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.

7 posted on 02/22/2006 6:10:01 AM PST by FreePaul
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To: xsrdx
I test drove a 2006 Mercedes CLK500 last Monday.

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

 

8 posted on 02/22/2006 6:10:21 AM PST by Psycho_Bunny
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To: yankeedame
YOu can see video of the aftermath of the crash HERE

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

9 posted on 02/22/2006 6:10:41 AM PST by commish (Freedom Tastes Sweetest to Those Who Have Fought to Preserve It)
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To: yankeedame

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


10 posted on 02/22/2006 6:10:52 AM PST by Anti-Bubba182
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To: yankeedame
"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.

11 posted on 02/22/2006 6:10:59 AM PST by Falcon4.0
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To: yankeedame

Those who play, pay.


12 posted on 02/22/2006 6:11:12 AM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: PBRSTREETGANG
"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.

13 posted on 02/22/2006 6:11:19 AM PST by Draco
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To: PBRSTREETGANG

THAT'S a good one.

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

14 posted on 02/22/2006 6:12:20 AM PST by elli1
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To: yankeedame

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


15 posted on 02/22/2006 6:13:12 AM PST by lawgirl (Cake is a powerful food!)
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To: yankeedame
"My Maserati does one-eighty-five
I lost my license, now I don't drive"

--Joe Walsh

16 posted on 02/22/2006 6:13:18 AM PST by Aquinasfan (Isaiah 22:22, Rev 3:7, Mat 16:19)
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To: coloradan
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.

17 posted on 02/22/2006 6:13:34 AM PST by commish (Freedom Tastes Sweetest to Those Who Have Fought to Preserve It)
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To: PBRSTREETGANG; Jeff Head
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.

18 posted on 02/22/2006 6:14:17 AM PST by starfish923
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To: Psycho_Bunny
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...

19 posted on 02/22/2006 6:15:09 AM PST by xsrdx (Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas)
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To: xsrdx

"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!"


20 posted on 02/22/2006 6:15:22 AM PST by WV Mountain Mama (We may not be here for a long time, but hopefully it will be a good time.)
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