Sad News - Fatal accident on LI

Don't know if he was a member here but off duty cop Richard Kappel had a fatal accident in his 2002 FCar in the Haptons this weekend.


http://www.newsday.com/news/local/suffolk/ny-liquog0623,0,2829634.story


Prayers go out to his family and the passengers family.

Let's be careful out there.

 

Very sad RIP.

Have fun out there, but be safe about it.

 

Very sad but I have to say that I have noticed a lot of "cops killed in Ferrari" accidents over the last few years of being on F-chat. Two things that amaze me about this is: that they get paid the kind of money to afford a Ferrari(or do they) and every accident seems to be "excessive speed" related(I guess the speed limit only applys to us and not them) .....just my observation.

 

No disrespect to any police officers here but they abuse the law more often than not. It would seem like, instead of setting a good example for people, they're out there to ignore the law and think they are above it. What's worse is the poor civilians that get hurt in the process.

It's really too bad and we need a separate police to police the police.

Ace

 

quote from newspaper "Police said both men were ejected from the vehicle and were pronounced dead at the scene".

apparently no seat belts also.
thats against the law also isn't it?
speeding, no seat belts...................bad example.

sorry for the losses.

 

very sad and my prayers go out to the families.

agree about the police being among the worst offenders of violating the law.

 

Today's story says the car was borrowed. A real tragedy considering it wasn't his car and a young passenger lost his life too. Its one thing to drive in an excessive manner by yourself but another thing to do it with someone else in the car.

 

thank you. exactly what i've been saying forever. cops here make wayy too much money i have several friends who became them for that exact reason. they're also the biggest power abusers out there.

 

They don't make too much money at all. Unless you think $202,000 a year is too much !! LOL
http://lohud.com/article/20090621/NEWS01/306220014

 

Loss of life is tragic. But why were these cops speeding? Why weren't they wearing seat belts, and how the hell can the average cop (40-50K/yr) afford an F-car, even an 02? Unless these cops have "supplemental income"

 

May help explain, but...

"Friend of a friend" tells me this. Not to sure about the accuracy but here it is:

Quogue PO was driving a "borrowed" 2002 Ferrari. Note the quotes. The PO allegedly did landscaping/estate care on the side. The car belonged to one of his clients.

Also, the passenger was the PO's wife's cousin.

Sorry if I got the story wrong. Again, just what I heard.

I drove by the site yesterday. The roadside memorial was there. The road takes a slight dogleg to the left after a very long straight. Looks like he tried to apex the curve but lost adhesion. The tire tracks go across both lanes straight into the trees.

Sad.

 

Just found this update.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/suffolk/ny-liferr2612918046jun25,0,5397045.story

He didn't have permission to borrow car.

 

Similar info was posted in the Southampton Press. But it didn't confirm whether he had permission or not. Just that he was storing the car during the renovation.

 

I'm Ok with LEO making whatever amount the budget allows, same for Military. In Philadelphia at least, these guys are putting their lives on the line every day and getting shot at with military style hardware while defending themselves with low powered hand guns, little training, and crappy vests. Since I am not about to step in their shoes for all the money in the world, I am more than happy to fork over my tax dollars to support them.

Like everyone else, I do take issue with certain police officers who think they are above the law and whose own actions are or borderline on criminal, but I think you can find a fair amount of d-bags in any profession. Its not like the banking industry is full of princes.

 

My guess is the driver probably never drove a Ferrari before and could not control it at speed. The first time driving an F car takes some getting use to.

 

The thing about all these high performance cars is unless you're used to them they don't feel like they are going as fast as they are. It's so easy to go so fast and feel like you're still at a safe speed for the road. The unfortunate thing is that by the time most people realize it's too late cause they are no longer on the straight open road anymore but in the middle of a turn.

 

Here in Suffolk County the biggest problem the police have is spider webs in their holsters. They aren't worth what they are paid and Suffolk County Supervisor Levy is proving that every day the County Sheriffs (paid half what a Suff cop makes) are patrolling the State roads. I guess some idiot will say that the Sheriffs aren't doing a good enough job and that's why the cop from Quogue got killed. My biggest issue with cop pay is that they will get paid more when they retire than they ever made when they were on the force. As far as abusing power; what's the difference between any of us killing ourselves in our cars and the cop that killed himself?

 

In Philadelphia, with overtime police can make very significant money and have excellent retirement benefits. However, in light of what they are up against, I can't complain. I Can't argue with you because I am not from Suffolk County and it would be presumptive of me to assume all police departments operate the same. As for abusing power, i was simply making the point that police have not cornered the market on corruption or believing they are above the law. However, to your point, like politicians, it leaves a particular bitter taste when people employed in the public's trust abuse their power.

 

Sad loss....

Why is it that people do not respect the power that these cars have? These are 400, 500+ hp cars which can get out of control VERY quickly. I have done a few track schools and I am amazed how much I learned about how to drive and what not to do. At Bondurant I put a Mustang GT into a 360 degree spin doing a driving control excercise at no more that 35mph. Think what can happen at 100 or 125 mph???!!!

I urge everyone, especially owners of high power cars to spend the $2 - $4k to go to a good driving / track school and learn about driving. Please.


RIP.... they were guys like us who liked exotic cars

 

+1...that is the key, "respect the power inside"

also +1....it can happen to you or I or anyone else....

 

Bill, this is good advice and it doesn't have to cost that much either. The club events serve as a great platform for learning the same skills the more expensive schools teach. The difference is that the pro schools teach you more about racing once they have built the "safe driving" foundation.

FCA track events went a long way to relieving my urge to drive fast on the highway. You quickly realize it is safer on the track and insane to drive competitively on public roads. More owners of performance cars should do it.