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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.