Posted on 02/22/2006 3:37:11 PM PST by calcowgirl
It was a SigAlert made for Malibu.
A red Ferrari Enzo — one of only 400 ever made and worth more than $1 million — broke apart Tuesday when it crested a hill on Pacific Coast Highway going 120 mph and slammed into a power pole.
The driver jumped out of the wreckage and ran into the canyon above, evading a three-hour search by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department helicopter and a mountain search-and-rescue team.
The crash did not result in serious injuries. But it sent shockwaves through both the tabloid and exotic car worlds as one group wondered if the driver was a celebrity and the other mourned the loss of a hand-built car revered by many as a work of art.
But by day's end the tabloids were disappointed to learn that the demolished car had been owned by a Swedish millionaire without a Screen Actors Guild card.
Sheriff's investigators identified him as 44-year-old Stefan Eriksson, a Bel-Air resident. Officials are trying to determine whether he is the noted Swedish game designer whose firm, perhaps not surprisingly, was involved with car-racing themed video games.
Authorities said Eriksson said he was a passenger in the Ferrari, which he said was being driven by a German acquaintance he knew only as Dietrich.
Eriksson told authorities that "Dietrich" ran up a hill toward the canyon road and disappeared. Brooks said detectives are far from convinced they have the whole story.
Eriksson "had a .09 blood-alcohol level, but if he's a passenger, that's OK," Brooks said. "But he had a bloody lip, and only the air bag on the driver's side had blood on it. The passenger-side air bag did not. My Scooby-Doo detectives are looking closely into that.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
http://www.dailynews.com/ci_3533119
MALIBU - A million-dollar top-of-the-line Ferrari - a cherry-red masterpiece that rockets from 0 to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds - sat in pieces early Tuesday on Pacific Coast Highway.
Nearby was the owner, a Swedish playboy with a bloody nose. Authorities said he had alcohol on his breath and told a wild tale about a German named Dietrich who crashed the Enzo Ferrari, splitting it in two and proving that the car was made not only for speed but for passenger safety.
By the end of the day, police were still trying determine who was behind the wheel of the car - which uses racing technology and is designed to withstand high-speed crashes - and why it was speeding down PCH at 120 mph before it crashed at 6:15 a.m.
At the center of their investigation is Stefan Eriksson, 44, a disgraced electronics executive who police believe might have used the streets of Los Angeles as his personal Formula One course.
"It's all beginning to come together," said Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Philip Brooks. "Pretty soon, we'll have it all figured out."
Eriksson told authorities he was riding in the passenger seat, and that a man named Dietrich was driving, when the car went out of control and hit a power pole near Decker Road. Dietrich bolted into the underbrush, Eriksson said, leaving him to deal with police.
Aside from Eriksson's story, there was no sign that there was more than one person in the car, Brooks said. Eriksson suffered a bloody nose, and the only blood in the car was on the driver's side air bag - not the passenger air bag.
Also, Eriksson's blood-alcohol level was .09 percent, just above the legal limit of .08 for drunk driving, and police found a gun at the scene, Brooks said.
If detectives determine that Eriksson was behind the wheel, he could be charged with drunk driving, lying to a police officer and other violations, Brooks said.
It wouldn't be the first time he's run into trouble with the law.
He was convicted of fraud and counterfeiting in Sweden in 1993 and 1994, and has been linked to a group known as the Uppsala Mafia, according to authorities.
(Snip)
Whoever was behind the wheel of the Enzo was driving Ferrari's top-of-the-line car, named after the company's founder, Enzo Ferrari.
Only 399 Enzos were manufactured between 2002 and 2004, with one more made for Pope John Paul II in 2005. The Catholic Church auctioned that car off for $1.275 million to benefit charity.
The original sticker price was $643,330, but the Enzo usually resells for about $1 million.
(snip)
A list of Enzo owners looks like a who's who of the rich and famous - entrepreneur Steve Wynn, actor Nicholas Cage, musician Eric Clapton, clothing designer Tommy Hilfiger.
The car goes from 0 to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and has a top speed of 217.5 mph. It has gull-wing doors and sits 3.9 inches off the ground, with a special button on the steering-wheel mount that allows the driver to lift the front suspension a few inches more. Then there's the V-12 engine that cranks out 650 horsepower.
Enzo Ferrari
Homo!
Eric Clapner you mean?
What I cannot figure is how the idiot crashed: the Coast Highway location shown in the LAT article is darn near flat, and is dead straight. Been by there dozens of times. Sounds like another fool with far more money than talent to drive a fantastic car.
Yeah. He'll be charged shortly. They're just tying up the loose ends.
I know it's the wrong make, but this song's running through my mind:
"My Maserati does one-eighty-five...
"I lost my license, now I don't drive."
--Joe Walsh
Rut roh!
Sgt. Brooks is a funny guy.
There's an easy answer to how he wrecked it on that stretch.
Sven blew a 0.09 b/a level after the cops arrived and after his post-wreck adrenaline kick had sponged up who knows how much of the booze in his system.
And you've gotta figure it was at least half an hour between the cops having arrived and their having tested him after the "name, rank, serial number and are you hurt sir?" routine too. So there ya' go.
post-wreck adrenaline kick had sponged up who knows how much of the booze in his system.
Zero
Dosent work that way
"Dead" straight, it is. In more ways than one.
I just watched the video and it is as you described--straight and darn near flat.
Yep. I liked he "Scooby-Doo detectives" reference. :-)
ok, so adrenaline was clearly the wrong word to use.
There is already an Enzo on http://www.wreckedexotics.com
None totaled though. The one on there only had $400K in damages. Rumor has it the owners son was driving.
There is also a VIDEO of the crash site at the LA Times website.
So dead?
Actually, I found the article interesting because of his Uppsala Mafia connections. LA now has it all!
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