Just heard about a Ferrari Crash in Pierce County

Sounds like inertia took over after that long straight. If the road was damp it would have been worse.
I have noticed the "balance" of my TR in corners as compared to my old 308 and thoughts that it could easily switch ends if not paid attention to..

Your gesture of flowers is most fitting and heartfelt. Thank you for time in relating this to us. We can all learn from it.

 

I did the same thing in my 328 (BMW) last year on the way home from work.
Wide L/H sweeper,
Wet road,
Sand,
Bump in road,
Too much speed,
the back end broke loose and shot me across the road into a dirt bank. The car spun 180 after hitting the bank and stalled. I started it up and drove the LAST 400 FEET to my driveway.

Fortunately this happened at 11:00 pm on a Monday night with no traffic.
No drinking involved and it was the first car I've wrecked in 35 years.

I still have the 328. It runs and drives great sans the front clip. One of these days I'll find a rear-ended E36 and fix it.

All of this gives pause to just what can happen at any time.

 

"No seat belts were worn". ??????. That seems HIGHLY unlikely. Would ANY of you, EVER, consider driving your Ferrari, with or without a passenger, if seat belts were not being worn? Is it possible that a civilian at the accident scene unbuckled the poor victims before the first officer arrived?

 

This one is a 1998. Only made a few years on the E36 platform. It's a 3 series with a 2.8 liter straight 6. A fun and fast car.

 

Yeah, the no belts statement sounded odd. Possibly the impact broke them, it happens.
Old belts lose strength. These were 14 years old.

 

"No seatbelts were worn and no airbags deployed (pre 95 car). "
If this is a 512m they were only made 95,96..mine had air bags...is this the recent auction car?

 

Huh? I've heard horror stories of auction cars being resold with fake airbag replacements? Often it isn't apparent unitl their use is tardy.

(Now we're getting off track and starting our own investigstigation)

Jeff isright. Whether its my Subaru or especially in a perforamnce car, seatbelts are a must.

 

My friend & I shared a house 30 years ago on Veterans drive which is just off Gravelly Lake drive. The house only had a 1 car garage and we both had 400 Firebirds and worked the swing shift so it was a race home every night to see who got the garage. Our luck nearly ran out one night when with me in the lead and him on my tail we ran wide and hit some gravel in a left hander. Both cars came out of the slide together & we missed a telephone pole by mere inches. Though we were young & stupid at the time we had quick reactions & dumb luck on our side. These races went on for a year or so thru Firebirds, Vettes, Z cars, & Mustangs.
Anyway, whenever I read about someone dying while driving on the edge I always remember how lucky I've been & glad I've never killed myself or an innocent bystander.
Thoughts & prayers with the families.
Bill
ps WEAR THOSE BELTS!

 

Here's an updated link from KIRO-TV. http://www.kirotv.com/news/15940025/detail.html?taf=sea

"Police said the driver of the Ferrari, Logan Dane Coffey, a 34-year-old Lakewood resident, and Suzanne Beth Block, a 39-year-old California resident died at the scene."

 

I do not know if this was the auction car or not...it appears it was...I can say IF IT was then the tires UNLESS they were replaced were probably OEM and beyond there proper life span...if this was the case, it is VERY VERY easy to give a "LITTLE" gas and slide around like you are on ice skates...

BUT regardless..the point of the matter is..two persons lost their lifes and their futures..hope they are in a better place...


RIP P L E A S E

 

I agree with the tire situation. When I first heard of this I thought Oh, boy if this is the auction car I hope that the owner replaced the tires before driving-since the car sat for 6 years at the auction facility. The tires in the picture are Goodyear Eagles and that would be the original equipment tire.

Our sympathies are with the family and friends.

 

I'm guessing that this was the "Murphy Auction" car. How many 1995 Ferrari 512M (red/black) are in the Northwest? You can see from both the Murphy auction site, and the photo's of the wrecked car on KIRO, that this one did not have airbags. What a shame.

RIP

Mike

 

There were only 75 of the 512M produced for North America (about 500 worldwide).

 

I read on some other forums about the crash - speed doesn't appear to be a significant factor in the accident. Neither were seat belts/air bags, etc. The larger vehicle went UP the front of the TR like it was a ramp, and the bumper of the larger vehicle sheared into the cockpit - notice the roof of the TR is mostly GONE, the Ferrari was literally wedged under the bus. When a low-ground-clearance vehicle strikes another with High-ground-clearance, this can easily happen even at rather low speeds.

 

Eye witness account, however accurate, said the car was "skipping" across the road. That implies out of control which is hard to do at 35 MPH.

It makes one wonder. How do you get a TR sideways in the wrong lane?

 

Stragely enough my brother was wearing a Tactical Tailor hat when I told him the news.

 

When I took delivery of my TR the only thing that I was told by a well respected Fcar Challenge driver and mechanic: "Whatever you do, if you are in a turn and feel a little over your head, DO NOT lift. The TR will swap ends before you know it. Learn to left foot brake - gingerly." He went on to tell me of several instances where he had and saw TRs "spin in an instant". The way this was told to me, I have taken it to heart and keep it in the back of my mind while driving the TR.

Obviously I do not know what happened here but can't help but think that the handling characteristics of the car may have contributed, newer owner, etc. The points about the old tires and driving a low-to-the-ground wedge into a high profile vehicle likely also contributed to the sad end.

My thoughts to all families involved.

CC

 

Curtis, I think that's good advice about not lifting, but don't think that's what happened here. I live less than a mile from the auction site and was looking at picking up this Ferrari. I had planned on spending a good chunk of change to get this car road worthy replacing all the rubber and fluids (e.g. struts, tires, timing belt etc.). I'm sure he was driving on 1985 tires and the fact that witness saw the car skipping leaves me to believe that he probably had a front tire blow out which put him into oncoming traffic. This happened in front of his house, so I really doubt he was speeding.

http://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d197/sliminizer/?action=view&current=1f1c6db7.pbw

 

Your advice is so true on many cars in addition to a TR. This is the impression I've gotten so far driving my TR so far.
My personal experience with switching ends was in a 240Z. Lift in a corner and do an automatic 180. I never completely lost it but I got the warning. 911's the same way.

I still question the speed to create the length of the skid marks:

Zommbee:

"I just had a lot of curiosity, so I drove
3 miles to the site on Gravelly Lake Drive (11600 block). Looking
at the pink 'skid markers' I see no way other than to say very high
rate of speed. The skids have the classic 'lost traction in the
curve' look and start over 200 feet from the crash site. It was
a very long slow curve, coming right after a long straight section
for almost a mile. I'm no investigator, but easily 80 - 90 MPH or
greater, based on how long the skid is. Just guessing from my
own experience."

Maybe a combination of moderate speed and "lifting"?