Man drives Bugatti into lake [Archive]

yg17

Nov 13, 2009, 08:03 AM

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33906595/ns/us_news-weird_news/

LA 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.

Poor car. RIP Bugatti :mad:

iBlue

Nov 13, 2009, 08:06 AM

Aww, diddums!

edesignuk

Nov 13, 2009, 08:06 AM

oooops, what a dumb arse.

kroeks

Nov 13, 2009, 08:08 AM

that has to be even more painful then getting stuck in the mailbox with your left hand.

iShater

Nov 13, 2009, 08:13 AM

That totally sux. I am sure he has insurance, and I am sure his rate is going up.

Watch out for a flooded Bugatti on the market folks. :p

Unspoken Demise

Nov 13, 2009, 08:13 AM

Watch out for a flooded Bugatti on the market folks. :p

Make sure to get a CarFax history report!

iShater

Nov 13, 2009, 08:16 AM

Make sure to get a CarFax history report!

CarFox FTW. :D

yetanotherdave

Nov 13, 2009, 08:56 AM

In the photo the spoiler is up, according to wikipedia the wing doesn't deploy until 220kph, or 136mph!
I think there's something he's not telling the police there.

jzuena

Nov 13, 2009, 09:26 AM

When I saw the thread title I thought "please don't be a Veyron, please don't be a Veyron." Some people have more money than brains.

I think Jeremy Clarkson just threw up a little in his mouth :(

mscriv

Nov 13, 2009, 09:27 AM

He must have the James Bond version and was trying to activate the watercraft/submarine mode.

g4forever

Nov 13, 2009, 09:53 AM

In the photo the spoiler is up, according to wikipedia the wing doesn't deploy until 220kph, or 136mph!
I think there's something he's not telling the police there.

I saw this guy on I-45 at Bay Area Blvd. shortly before he took his car for a swim. The spoiler was up and he was driving about 70 mph.

Sun Baked

Nov 13, 2009, 09:59 AM

Was really fun to watch the video of them chain the car through the back wheels and drag it out, and onto the flatbed. ;)

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/091112_bugatti_la_marque_crash_lake

Rapmastac1

Nov 13, 2009, 10:41 AM

You can manually put the spoiler up and lower the car even though you aren't going fast.

leekohler

Nov 13, 2009, 10:43 AM

Natural selection obviously didn't work in his case.

sushi

Nov 13, 2009, 10:47 AM

Natural selection obviously didn't work in his case.
Snort!

That much is certain. Sounds like he was operating a piece of machinery above his capabilities.

Zombie Acorn

Nov 13, 2009, 11:37 AM

In the photo the spoiler is up, according to wikipedia the wing doesn't deploy until 220kph, or 136mph!
I think there's something he's not telling the police there.

I can't remember the name of that show on BBC America but when he drove the car he manually deployed the wing.

btw for a million I would be able to lift that car out of the water.

abijnk

Nov 13, 2009, 12:00 PM

I sobbed for an hour straight after seeing that picture. :(

I can't remember the name of that show on BBC America but when he drove the car he manually deployed the wing.

btw for a million I would be able to lift that car out of the water.

Top Gear, and yes, I am fairly certain you can manually deploy it.

ucfgrad93

Nov 13, 2009, 12:28 PM

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33906595/ns/us_news-weird_news/

Poor car. RIP Bugatti :mad:

oooops, what a dumb arse.

Yeah, what an idiot.

yg17

Nov 13, 2009, 12:31 PM

I sobbed for an hour straight after seeing that picture. :(

Top Gear, and yes, I am fairly certain you can manually deploy it.

Yeah, IIRC, you stick the key in a switch in the door jam and that puts the car in "Holy s***! Mode"

abijnk

Nov 13, 2009, 12:33 PM

Yeah, IIRC, you stick the key in a switch in the door jam and that puts the car in "Holy s***! Mode"

It's my favorite mode. :D

dmr727

Nov 13, 2009, 12:34 PM

All I know is that I'm a hell of a lot more careful with my Bugatti.

Bugatti is a kind of bread, right?

Andy348

Nov 13, 2009, 12:36 PM

When I saw the thread title I thought "please don't be a Veyron, please don't be a Veyron." Some people have more money than brains.

I think Jeremy Clarkson just threw up a little in his mouth :(

You rather it be an older, more rare and expensive like an EB110?

The guy only purchased the car last week IIRC, and he wasn't driving recklessly, he just dropped his cell phone.

yg17

Nov 13, 2009, 12:40 PM

You rather it be an older, more rare and expensive like an EB110?

The guy only purchased the car last week IIRC, and he wasn't driving recklessly, he just dropped his cell phone.

If I'm driving my week old, million dollar exotic supercar, I wouldn't be talking on my cell phone, and if I was, and I dropped it, I wouldn't try to pick it up while driving. The guy is an idiot, plain and simple.

jav6454

Nov 13, 2009, 12:42 PM

I wish i would have the cash allowance this guy has to drive a Bugatti into a lake... salt water lake...

xUKHCx

Nov 13, 2009, 12:43 PM

The guy only purchased the car last week IIRC, and he wasn't driving recklessly, he just dropped his cell phone.

:rolleyes:

He wasn't exactly driving brilliantly if dropping his phone caused him to trash it into a lake. Good job that no one was walking down the road or another car was involved because clearly this guy has more money than driving skills.

jav6454

Nov 13, 2009, 12:51 PM

The guy only purchased the car last week IIRC, and he wasn't driving recklessly, he just dropped his cell phone.

And reaching down and taking away your sight from the road while driving to pick-up your cellphone is sign of a good driver? This guy needs some sense in him.

-aggie-

Nov 13, 2009, 04:04 PM

You rather it be an older, more rare and expensive like an EB110?

The guy only purchased the car last week IIRC, and he wasn't driving recklessly, he just dropped his cell phone.

Logic fail.

Andy348

Nov 13, 2009, 06:27 PM

Logic fail.

I'm not saying he's brilliant, I'm just mentioning that he wasn't speeding as everyone would assume.

yetanotherdave

Nov 14, 2009, 12:38 PM

Someone else was videoing him, no low flying bird, not excessive speed, just someone being distracted!

http://www.geekologie.com/2009/11/video_of_bugatti_veyron_crash.php

BlizzardBomb

Nov 14, 2009, 12:57 PM

Someone else was videoing him, no low flying bird, not excessive speed, just someone being distracted!

http://www.geekologie.com/2009/11/video_of_bugatti_veyron_crash.php

So his Veyron is busted and so is he. ;)

racers

Nov 14, 2009, 01:12 PM

I declare this... EPIC FAIL :p

Sun Baked

Nov 14, 2009, 01:43 PM

So his Veyron is busted and so is he. ;)

Insurance adjuster has to be laughing with glee after downloading the latest video.

Probably will also be getting a copy of his call log to see if he was making a call, and to see if he called his lawyer shortly before or after the police to concoct a story.

That bird story is odd, and the insurance company likely will want to poke holes into the police report to avoid liability.

agkm800

Nov 14, 2009, 06:59 PM

Well, perhaps it is just same as you and I driving a Corolla into the lake on the Bugatti owner's economic standpoint.

John Doe 57

Nov 14, 2009, 09:16 PM

Everybody loves nature. In the end, life and nature are about human connections. And birds are about trying to murder you in a lake.

yg17

Nov 14, 2009, 11:57 PM

Well, perhaps it is just same as you and I driving a Corolla into the lake on the Bugatti owner's economic standpoint.

The difference is there's a million Corollas out there. Only around 200 Veyron's have been built and this moron destroyed one. It's a very rare car, you can't just walk into a Bugatti dealer, plunk down a million dollars and drive away with a new one an hour later.

leomac08

Nov 15, 2009, 01:06 AM

I would really love to put a facepalm in this thread for that guy.....with the bugatti!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but let me say something

"DAY_UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM" spanish profanity :D

-aggie-

Nov 15, 2009, 01:30 AM

Everybody loves nature. In the end, life and nature are about human connections. And birds are about trying to murder you in a lake.

Thanks for sharing.

John Doe 57

Nov 15, 2009, 10:34 AM

Thanks for sharing.

You can thank Michael Scott from The Office.

pilotError

Nov 15, 2009, 11:47 AM

Wonder what it would cost to fix it.

I'm sure the frame / engine / body isn't in too bad of shape, the electronics are the killer.

I'm sure if he had to dump another 200k to put it back together, it's not a total loss by any means.

That video tape is damning, but it didn't look like he was going all that fast when he hit the water.

John Doe 57

Nov 15, 2009, 12:11 PM

but it didn't look like he was going all that fast when he hit the water.

g4forever said he was going 70 mph shortly before the accident.

Gray-Wolf

Nov 15, 2009, 12:52 PM

RKO

Nov 15, 2009, 12:58 PM

You all should go to the car makers web site. It, is enlightening. The music, is fantastic and fits the cars image. People with lots of money, but little common sense could afford one of these.

http://www.bugatti.com/en/veyron-16.4/design.html

Hey, but thats not all!

"With best thanks!
With the purchase of one of our products you receive a high-quality "BUGATTI Veyron Calendar 2009" free of charge.
- While stock lasts -"

Too funny