Florida Man Crashes Ford GT Because Hes "Unfamiliar" with Driving Stick
update 3:55 pm: road & track spoke with the ford gt owner. their story has been updated with additional details.
a ford gt owner in boca raton, florida crashed his recently purchased supercar into a tree friday evening because he was "unfamiliar with how to drive stick shift," police say.
the driver, 50-year-old robert j. guarini, told police he lost control after downshifting while leaving his housing development at around 6 p.m. this led to a head-on collision with a palm tree. guarini then told a nearby security worker that he did not have his phone and needed a ride back to his house, where he spoke to police via landline after leaving the vehicle unattended, police say.
facebook user john peddle's photos from the crash site show that the damage is limited to the front third of the car. the hit was substantial enough to trigger multiple airbags and disable the vehicle. it's unclear how fast guarini was going when the crash occurred, but the gt slid far enough after hitting the tree that it blocked a nearby sidewalk.
the car was not registered or insured when the crash occurred. the listed vin indicates that the car was purchased at a barrett-jackson auction in palm beach for $704,000 in early april, about the going price for a 2006 heritage edition gt. that would make replacement a very expensive endeavor.
guarini was issued a citation for driving with a suspended license and a warning for operating an unregistered vehicle.
from: road & track
source:caranddriver.com