FBI seizes Ferrari, takes joy ride, crashes and then refuses to pay
Published: 25 May, 2011, 20:43
1995 Ferrari F50 (Photo from http://ferrari.com)
TAGS: Crime, Accident, Law, USA
In 2008 the FBI managed to track down a stolen Ferrari – much to the owners delight – but not for long. An agent decided to take the car for a spin before it was returned to the owner. He crashed it and no one is willing to pay-up.
The owner is suing the US Justice Department because the FBI refuses to pay the estimate $750,000 in damages to the vehicle.
The Ferrari F50 was initially stolen in 2003 from a dealer in Rosemont, Pennsylvania. After it was reported stolen the ownership was transferred to Motors Insurance.
The vehicle is only one of 50 1995 Ferrari F50 sports cars in the United States.
After the sports car was found it was taken to an FBI facility in Lexington, Kentucky for the duration of the investigation. While in Kentucky however it met its demise.
FBI agent Fred Kingston was instructed to move the car from the FBI garage and decided to invite Assistant US Attorney J. Hamilton Thompson along for the ride.
“Just a few seconds after we left the parking lot, we went around a curve and the rear of the car began sliding,” Thompson said in an email to Motors Insurance Company. “The agent tried to regain control but the car fishtailed and slid sideways up onto the curb. The vehicle came to rest against a row of bushes and a small tree.”
The car suffered multiple large dents, and according to Motors Insurance, is a “total loss.”
“At heart, it is a race vehicle' and is not built like a typical car, truck or SUV,” the insurance company noted.
The US government has denied any need to pay for the crash, saying they are not legally responsible for stolen goods when they are in the hands of law enforcement.
The Justice Department however has also been unwilling to release any documents regarding the incident, leading many to question why there is such a lack of transparency on the matter.
In addition to the lawsuit by Motors Insurance seeking damages, the company has also filed a federal Freedom of Information Act request to gain access to the records of the crash and surrounding and incidents.
25.05.2011, 20:42
1 comment
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thats the us for you anything to keep u from having nice things or freedom
I think you're missing the entire point here, guys. Yeah, the FBI guy shouldn't have hit the car into a bush; here's the issue I have with it, however. The company is declaring a car that was DENTED a total loss - as in, irreparable, as in, "give me the 750 thousand that you helped me find again NOW". I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that scrapes and dents on a car - even IF there are only 50 models extant in the US - means that it's immediately worth it's selling price. I mean, this is like someone getting back a box of cookies you left on the bus because you didn't pay enough attention, and you bitching that they opened the box, ate a couple of cookies, then offered you the rest. Well shit, obviously, the rest of the cookies MUST be ruined now.
Likely what happened is it was already written off on an insurance claim, so they don't want the car back. Instead, it's much better if the car has been damaged - then, they can earn even more money.







Wow, Panda, did you even READ the article? It is YOU who has missed the point. It has nothing to do with the amount of damage to the car. The government is claiming that it is IMMUNE from lawsuits and that no matter WHAT they did, no matter how wrong the conduct (taking a car that doesn't belong to them for a reckless high-speed joyride), you can't sue them, whether the car is totaled or merely damaged. Period.
(And by the way, if you slam a Ferrari at high speed into a curb, it's going to be a total loss.)