Rare Ferrari Destroyed in Malibu Crash

[Zippity]

Rare Ferrari Destroyed in Malibu Crash

Wednesday, February 22, 2006


(02-22) 08:12 PST Malibu, Calif. (AP) --


Authorities are investigating the circumstances behind a spectacular crash on Pacific Coast Highway that destroyed a rare Ferrari Enzo estimated to be worth more than $1 million.


The red Ferrari was going at least 100 mph when the driver lost control and struck a power pole, investigators said. The car — one of only 400 made — shattered, with its engine coming to rest on the highway and its wreckage scattered.


Sheriff's investigators identified the owner as Stefan Ericksson, 44, of Bel Air, who escaped the wreck with only a cut lip.


"For $1 million, you get a very good passenger-safety system, and apparently in this case it did work," said Sgt. Philip Brooks of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.


Authorities said Ericksson told them he was a passenger and the driver was a German acquaintance he knew only as Dietrich, who he said ran into the nearby hills. A three-hour search failed to turn up anyone, and officials said they were skeptical of the account. Only the driver's side air bag deployed, Brooks said.


"He destroyed one of the finest cars on earth, maybe the finest," said Ferrari owner Chris Banning, a Beverly Hills writer who is finishing a book on the cult of sports car racing along winding Mulholland Drive.


"It's like taking a Van Gogh painting and burning it."

[Bill from NH]

Saw the car on TV, it was sheared in half. Motor & rear were in the left side of the highway, passenger compartment & front were on the right. This guy should have taken up slotcar racing!:)

[Fredman]

Crash story from the LA Times (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ferrari23feb23,0,1692414.story?coll=la-home-local)

This time it's actually a TRUE story !

There is video from the crash scene on ktla.com as well.

[formerracer]

There's an investigation on HOW the car got into the country.... seems there maybe a little legal problem brewing in that there's no record of that car being imported....

Oh well, at least it's not a suitcase nuke the guy was hauling around Malibu and Bel Air.... our crack customs officals would have SURELY caught that! But a automobile.....?

[formerracer]

Originally posted by Bill from NH
Saw the car on TV, it was sheared in half. Motor & rear were in the left side of the highway, passenger compartment & front were on the right. This guy should have taken up slotcar racing!:)

Maybe this car's owner is the "On Santa Monica Beach" from EBAY...

I wonder if he is he called TRACK! TRACK! as he took off..

(pilot to tower....pilot to tower.... we have lift-off!)

[Fredman]

There was a story out last week that US Customs only has enough manpower to actually 'search' 5% of the containers coming into the USA.

[brane]

Other wrecked Enzos...

http://www.wreckedexotics.com/enzo/

[formerracer]

It seems the tale of the Enzo keeps getting stranger and strangerer all the time... after all, this is Southern California.

Earlier this week the LA County Sheriffs department said that Glock handgun parts were found "in the area of the wreckage." The sherrifs have not said whether those parts have anything to do with the wreck.....

In the meantime, it seems our hero, Mr. Erikkson, is part of "Homeland Security Police" of the San Gabriel Valley Paratransit Agency. This powerful agency is based out of a auto repair shop in Monrovia. It appears the SGVPA has its own police department.

In connection with this amazing discovery, the LA County Sheriffs are also looking to question 2 men who appeared at the site of the Enzo crash flashing "Homeland Security" badges.

Mr Erikkson has also cooperated in giving a DNA sample so the police can determine if he was or wasn't the driver of the car at the time of the accident: there was blood on the air bag and Mr. Erikkson claimed to be a passenger.

While all this soap opera continues, the sheriffs have announced that the Ferrari was NOT engaged in racing, but was going 162 MPH at the time of the accident.

That's all. Film at 11.

[Quickerthanu]

Yep, this little agency he is apart of, I know the "Yo" Guy, good guy too.... I had never even heard of it either, go figure....

Josh B. from The Safest City in So Cal 'Cuz we got our own Anti-Terrorism Police :D:D

[Lasse]

As a former Executive Officer of Gizmondo Europe, Stefan Eriksson has "saved" a lot of money for his toys.

In Europe we do not have anything wealthy like Enron. Gizmondo Europe has to be used as a substitute instead.

[Zippity]

Ferrari crash leads to game executive's arrest
By Richard Winton and David Pierson

Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Sheriff's deputies have arrested the Swedish video-game executive who crashed his rare Ferrari Enzo in Malibu in February, alleging that he didn't own that car and others in his $3.5 million exotic-car collection, authorities said Sunday.

Stefan Eriksson faces grand theft of property charges after detectives raided his gated Bel-Air estate Friday night, spent six hours searching it and then arrested him Saturday.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said Eriksson was arrested after detectives concluded the wrecked red Enzo — and a rare Mercedes and a black Enzo Ferrari — were owned by British financial institutions.

The cars were purchased in Britain last year and Eriksson apparently brought them to Los Angeles. But financial institutions that held titles to the cars informed detectives that payments had lapsed, Whitmore said.

The arrest, he said, underscores that what started as a curious auto accident on Pacific Coast Highway has expanded into a multipronged investigation. The search was conducted by the sheriff's emergency-operations bureau, part of Homeland Security.

"This is the beginning of the investigation," Whitmore said. "All three cars have now been confiscated."

Although no one was seriously injured in the crash, the investigation has generated significant attention because of the strange circumstances and the fact that it destroyed one of only 400 Ferrari Enzos ever built. Authorities believe the car was going 162 mph when it smashed into a power pole.

Eriksson told deputies who arrived at the scene that he was not the driver and that another man, named Dietrich, had been behind the wheel. Eriksson said Dietrich fled the scene. But detectives have openly mocked his story.

A blood-alcohol test on Eriksson at the time showed him to be above the legal limit for driving in California, so he could face charges if he was driving.

Eriksson also told deputies that he was a deputy commissioner of the police department of a small transit agency. A few minutes after the crash, two men arrived at the crash scene, identified themselves as homeland security officers and spoke to Eriksson at length before leaving.

Detectives are also investigating what connection the agency had to Eriksson.

Eriksson is being held without bail because Immigration and Customs Enforcement has put a hold him, though it is unclear why. His attorney could not be reached for comment.

Eriksson was an executive with Gizmondo, a European video-game company that crashed with more than $200 million in debts. According to Swedish authorities, he was in jail in the early 1990s for counterfeiting.

During the search at Eriksson's Bel Air home, detectives found the black Ferrari Enzo, worth more than $1 million, Whitmore said. His MacLaren Mercedes SLR, worth $600,000, was seized last month when his wife was stopped in Beverly Hills for driving without a license. That sports car was reported stolen to London's Scotland Yard.

[Fredman]

I just find it so hard to believe there were NO witnesses to the crash at all - on the PCH. Incredible.

I also find it hard to believe the guy kept the other cars on his property when he KNEW they would be looking for them after the crash of the Enzo.

[formerracer]

If someone doesn't write a screenplay based on this story...... you can't write this stuff and make it believable and yet here it's happening now.

I'll be fun to see what happens to our "hero".

[Big Ol' Durl]

I seem to encounter a-holes like this almost everytime I'm on the road. Most are on their cell phones driving thier beemers either 30 miles an hour SLOWER than the speed limit, or 30 miles an hour FASTER than the speed limit. And either way, they are completely oblivious to what is going on around them.

It was just a matter of time before game boy got his. I'm just glad this guy didn't hurt anybody in his over-compensation.

Durl

[brane]

See the video!!!:eek:

Get the T-shirt!!!:cool:

http://www.wreckedexotics.com/special/enzo/

[formerracer]

Since the last report let's review:

Mr. Fast Ferrari Driver's house has been searched and LO and BEHOLD MFFD (Mister Fast Ferrari Driver) had some "things" he shouldn't have. Like a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver....(so much for gun "control" when a Felonious non-citizen can "obtain" such things).... some "powder" and of course a Police badge from the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority(SGVTA).

MFFD has been arrested and his assets frozen although the court has allowed MFFD to make mortgage payments on his $6,000,000 Bel Air estate. (!!!!)

As an aside, the sheriffs also layed in wait to nab the Mercedes SLK (one of the cars in a dispute with British financial institutions on "non-payment" of loans) on the streets of Beverly Hills. They pulled over MFFDers girlfriend/wife/mistress under the suspicion she was driving without a California driver license... they were right and the car was impounded.

After searching a yatch a buddy of MFFD. Guess what they find???? MORE GUNS. Except these aren't just plain pistols.... nope, many assault weapons and other no-no's ( in California you must not possess asault weapons.... I assume that any weapon you might use to hit/slice/stab/produce a hole with, might be an assault weapon whether it be a knife, baseball bat, gun or your fist... but I digress).

Further investigation into the .357 pistol at MFFDers house finds that it doesn't belong to him but it does belong to a an honorary Deputy Sheriff of Orange County. It seems the HDS (Honorary Deputy Sheriff) and MFFD went out target shooting and that MFFD picked up the wrong bag when leaving the range..... uh huh...

The head of the SGVTA was arrested and his house, the SGVTA HQ and his house were searched. The investigators have been quiet on what they found except they found 18 more SGVTA police badges, a psuedo police car with all the radio/data gear and marking.

It seems the more rocks turned over the more bizaare this whole circus gets. ANd just to think: if MFFD would have said nothing until he saw a lawyer none of this would be happening.

In a column in the LA Times our hero, MFFD, was described as a "James Bond man of mystery" and a DOOFUS.... sounds about right...

[Zippity]

Passenger arrested in Ferrari crash

Sunday, August 12, 2007 - Page updated at 02:06 AM

<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = MB /><MB:IF attribute="raw:Byline">By Bob Pool
<MB:IF attribute="raw:Byline"><MB:IF attribute="raw:Credit">Los Angeles Times
<MB:IF attribute="raw:Credit">
LOS ANGELES — A 17-month search for a mysterious witness to a high-speed crash that left a $1 million Ferrari Enzo in pieces in Malibu has ended with the arrest of a Marina del Rey man.
Trevor Michael Karney, 26, was in custody on misdemeanor charges of drunken driving, resisting arrest and giving false information to a police officer, along with a possible federal immigration violation, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said.
Authorities said Karney is apparently the fictitious "Dietrich" who fled after the Feb. 21, 2006, crash that left the Ferrari — one of only 400 built — strewn in pieces over 1,200 feet of Pacific Coast Highway.
Investigators said he apparently hid in Ireland before sneaking back into the United States through Mexico.
Sheriff's deputies estimated the Ferrari was going 120 mph when it slammed into a power pole and split in half. The driver escaped with a bloody nose.
Initially, driver Bo Stefan Eriksson, a Swedish businessman, told investigators that a German he knew only as Dietrich had been driving. He ran up a hill toward a canyon road and disappeared after the crash, Eriksson said.
Eriksson, 45, was sentenced in November to 3 ½ years in a California prison after pleading guilty to embezzlement and drunken-driving charges. He will be deported after serving his sentence.
Karney, who was encountered at the scene of the crash, told deputies he had been traveling through Malibu in a Mercedes at the time and also saw "Dietrich" fleeing.
Authorities used a helicopter and a search-and-rescue team but never found any sign of such a man.
Turns out he was Karney, deputies now say, and he was riding in the Ferrari with Eriksson, not driving it.
"They're thinking that 'Dietrich' is him," Deputy Oscar Butao said Friday. The investigation concluded that Karney was using a video camera to photograph Eriksson driving at speeds of up to 162 mph.
Sheriff's officials said Karney was arrested Wednesday at a Marina del Rey apartment complex.
He is scheduled to appear Monday in a Malibu courtroom. He was being held on $60,000 bail.
Material from The Seattle Times archive is included in this report.

</MB:IF></MB:IF></MB:IF></MB:IF>

[buzzgok]

wonder how they tied him to the crash.

[Phil I.]

When you think your stuff don't stink & you think you can do ANY thing you want and laws don't apply to you and you can take advantage of everyone to your desire........:mad:

IT ALWAYS COME HOME TO BITE YOU WHERE IT HURTS THE MOST:D

To bad he will try to 'GET AWAY' with something as soon as he gets out:mad:.....HAVE MONEY WILL BUY.........:mad:

PHIL I.

[formerracer]

When you think your stuff don't stink & you think you can do ANY thing you want and laws don't apply to you and you can take advantage of everyone to your desire........:mad:

IT ALWAYS COME HOME TO BITE YOU WHERE IT HURTS THE MOST:D

To bad he will try to 'GET AWAY' with something as soon as he gets out:mad:.....HAVE MONEY WILL BUY.........:mad:

PHIL I.

Many believe what you're saying..... except..... the man's history is that he uses OTHER PEOPLES MONEY.... you seriously don't believe he's using his "own stash" do you?