CbrGirl Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 Talk about a bad day.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33906595/ns/us_news-weird_news/Driver blames bird, dropped cellphone; Bugatti Veyron is world's priciest carLA MARQUE, Texas - A man blamed a low-flying pelican and a dropped cell phone for his veering his million-dollar sports car off a road and into a salt marsh near Galveston.The accident happened about 3 p.m. Wednesday on the frontage road of Interstate 45 northbound in La Marque, about 35 miles southeast of Houston.The Lufkin, Texas, man told of driving his luxury, French-built Bugatti Veyron when the bird distracted him, said La Marque police Lt. Greg Gilchrist.The motorist dropped his cell phone, reached to pick it up and veered off the road and into the salt marsh. The car was half-submerged in the brine about 20 feet from the road when police arrived.Gilchrist said he doesn't know if the car was salvageable, but in his words, "Salt water isn't good for anything." He says the man, whose identity hasn't been released, was not injured.Celebrity driverThe police declined to release the driver's name, although the incident has drawn a great deal of attention on his vehicle.The Houston Chronicle reported the Texan has become something of a celebrity. He reportedly told the Texas City wrecker driver who towed his car that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called him Wednesday, along with several other celebrities.“He said he was getting so many calls that he finally stopped answering his phone,” said wrecker driver Gilbert Harrison of MCH Truck and Auto, which is storing the car.But Harrison said the driver seemed to take his very expensive mistake in stride.“He was calm,” Harrison told the Chronicle. “If it had been me, I'd have been cussing, but he was calm. I imagine inside he was probably pretty upset.”The Bugatti Veyron is the fastest and most expensive production car in the world.A 2006 Bugatti Veyron was recently offered for sale in Jonesboro, Ark., for $1.25 million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V4junkie Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 Idiot! What a waste... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiztedRabbit Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 poor poor bugatti Veryon... tis a sad day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 what speed does that spoiler come up at?I bet he was cookin... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad324 Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 what speed does that spoiler come up at?I bet he was cookin... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V4junkie Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 what speed does that spoiler come up at?I bet he was cookin...He probably was, but you can also set the spoiler so that it stays up. The car has a few settings including the mode where the car hunkers down as low as possible and the wing is deployed at all times. I think I saw that on Top Gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiztedRabbit Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 i do believe it doesnt come up til 137mph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiztedRabbit Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 junkie is correct once you hit that speed or have the "handling" option set it stays up in case you do it again lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmh_sprint Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 Here's a couple of facts of the Wikipedia page.- When the car reaches 220 km/h, hydraulics lower the car until it has a ground clearance of about 9 cm. At the same time, the wing and spoiler deploy.- It uses special Michelin PAX run-flat tyres, designed specifically for the Veyron to accommodate its top speed, which reportedly cost $25,000 US per set.What's $25k for tires when you can spend $1.25M on a car. I 'd hate to see what the bill for a standard service is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 Wasn't it top gear that said the tires will be used up in like 13 minutes of top speed running but the fuel would only last like 10? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V4junkie Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 Wasn't it top gear that said the tires will be used up in like 13 minutes of top speed running but the fuel would only last like 10?Good question, I'm pulling the episode up on my phone. Work is slow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevysoldier Posted November 14, 2009 Report Share Posted November 14, 2009 Dude! I saw that car at Easton about two months ago. It was funny. Or maybe there is more than one Back to the Future nut out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jporter12 Posted November 14, 2009 Report Share Posted November 14, 2009 Dude! I saw that car at Easton about two months ago. It was funny. Or maybe there is more than one Back to the Future nut out there? What are you talking about? Big Back to the Future fan here. Thanks, now I have to watch the DVD's... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kawi kid Posted November 14, 2009 Report Share Posted November 14, 2009 i wanna know what celebrity retard it was?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disclaimer Posted November 14, 2009 Report Share Posted November 14, 2009 (edited) Jalopnik.com covered all of this from the day it happened... here's the latest from them.INCLUDING VIDEO OF THE INCIDENT ITSELF!!!Here's the post with the video: http://jalopnik.com/5404403/exclusive-video-of-bugatti-veyron-actually-crashing-into-texas-lakeRemember the amazing $1.6 million Bugatti Veyron lake crash blamed on a low-flying pelican? We have the video of it happening and there's not a freaking pelican in sight. UPDATE: The driver responds!This was the story according to the Galveston Daily News:The man, who refused to give his name, was looking at real estate in Galveston.About 3 p.m. a low-flying pelican distracted him as he traveled northon Interstate 45 just south of the hurricane levee near Omega Bay.The man jerked the wheel, dropped his cell phone, and the car's fronttire left the frontage road and entered a muddy patch, which foiled hisattempt to maneuver away from the lagoon.Yeah, that's not what happened at all according to this video.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32yyvmlGOdoThis was recorded by a Facebook user who appears to be taping it with a phone or digital camera just atthe right moment. Warning, they do swear appropriately at the event.Incredible.UPDATE: Thanks to some great follow up reporting by the Galveston Daily Newsand their sister paper, we now know the man is Andy House ofPerformance Auto Sales in Lufkin, Texas. The shop, ironically,specializes in repairing wrecked exotics. We contacted House for acomment and here's what he said:I had dropped my phone, people dont know what happened, the arnoldstory was made up to by the wrecker driver. What it appeared to beenwas a reflection.We'll continue to cover this interesting story as it unfolds.UPDATE 2: Follow up story from the Galveston Daily NewsAnd here's the latest: http://jalopnik.com/5404505/exclusive-bugatti-lake-crash-driver-owns-infamous-eddie-griffin+crashed-ferrari-enzoAndy House isn't just the man who crashed his Bugatti Veyron into a lake. He's also the man who owns the repaired Ferrari Enzo crashed by actor Eddie Griffin. Holy super car t-shirt meme crash overload!House himself confirmed to us he owns the Enzo crashed by Griffin.Ironically, the business House owns is Performance Auto Sales, whichsells repaired exotic cars. According to House he's one of the largestsalvage auto dealers in the world.Being an expert on the topic, we asked him if he'd consider the car salvageable. House's response:"Not sure if the car is salvageable yet, have not had a chance to go survey the damage."According to House, this wasn't a company car he was planning to sell but rather a personal car and, despite the Bugatti lake accident, he's not done with the car yet, telling us"It is by far the nicest car that I have ever owned, looking to replace it now!"The Veyron itself was released to the insurance company earliertoday and, despite claims to the contrary, he insists he was nottalking to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at the time of thecrash. Edited November 14, 2009 by JRMMiii Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
420gsxr1000 Posted November 14, 2009 Report Share Posted November 14, 2009 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^great find!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kawi kid Posted November 14, 2009 Report Share Posted November 14, 2009 what is the possibility of someone taking vid amazing!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exSRAaron Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 lmao now that is some great stuff!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smashweights Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 Here's a couple of facts of the Wikipedia page.- When the car reaches 220 km/h, hydraulics lower the car until it has a ground clearance of about 9 cm. At the same time, the wing and spoiler deploy.- It uses special Michelin PAX run-flat tyres, designed specifically for the Veyron to accommodate its top speed, which reportedly cost $25,000 US per set.What's $25k for tires when you can spend $1.25M on a car. I 'd hate to see what the bill for a standard service is.also from wiki: parent company = volkswagen, which means it's probably a piece of shit anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagr Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 I was gonna say people with money turn stupid. But then I heard that burnout in the YouTube vid call it a Lambo. So yeah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kawi kid Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 yah i heard that too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buildit Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 H It uses special Michelin PAX run-flat tyres, designed specifically for the Veyron to accommodate its top speed, which reportedly cost $25,000 US per set.What's $25k for tires when you can spend $1.25M on a car. I 'd hate to see what the bill for a standard service is.There comes a point in vehicle ownership where if you have to ask about the price you're not rich enough to own one. I'd say if you own one of these cars asking what service costs would put you in the not wealthy enough to own catagory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balaormiga Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 Crap. He told me it was still being tuned. Now I know why I can't pick it up as scheduled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disclaimer Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 http://jalopnik.com/5406108/exclusive-first-post+lake-crash-bugatti-veyron-photo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Thats what insurance is for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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