Especially with collateral damage approaching $1MM. Poor fella probably never’d been on that stretch of Phila highway and let his emotions take over on the way to a big event, in a big car. It happens. Actually, better it happened there than a mile or two up the road, where it turns into the very twisty Schuylkill (pronounced Skoo-kill but known locally as sure-kill) Expressway. Coulda been a real BBQ then.
I don't post in the forums, just read, but I do have more concrete info on the crash. While I wasn't there at the event (I live in the suburbs so I know the area well), I have friends who did attend the event, and they explained what they saw. First thing, this accident did not occur on the way to the event. It WAS the event! This was during the early morning Charity drive through the city. All the cars that registered for the drive, they leave the WFC (Wells Fargo Center) lot, drive though the city, down to Spring Garden St to the Art Museum (all with a police escort) and then onto 76 to 676 (Vine St Expressway). The police stop all commuter traffic on 76 to allow the cars that participate to get onto the highway unabated (76) to then take the Vine St Expressway (676) to 95 South back to the stadium for the car show. This part is why people sign up. They get to floor the gas in their cars and it's allowed. The police have said in the past to people I know who did it, they want them to get back to the starting point (WFC) as fast as possible so they can reopen the highway to normal traffic. Shutting down 76 in Philly is a pretty big deal, so the quicker they get back, the quicker traffic is not held up. So people can go fast on here, normally within reason. My friends were in the middle lane, doing about 90-100 mph with plenty of space ahead of them, when they had the guy in the 458 just fly by in the far left lane like they were standing still. They figure he was doing at least 150 mph (possible 160mph). Now that area on 676, under the overpasses is NOT where you want to go that fast. They have been working on the roads in the past months, and with several long overpasses one after another, you go from bright sun to very dark under them several times quickly and your eyes can't adjust fast enough. So most who do this only do under 100 to be safe. Plenty to have fun, be safe and hear the sounds of the exhaust of their cars. BUT, the cops who stopped traffic to allow the participants to enter the highway didn't wait long enough for the normal commuter traffic that was ahead still on Vine St Expressway to clear out, before allowing the supercars to enter the highway. Hence the slow down and why the Ferrari lost it. He didn't see the traffic backed up ahead since he was going too fast. He braked, swerved and crashed into the Pista, the 488 and a normal commuter. That's what happened. 100% his fault. Shouldn't have doing as fast as he was. Most who participate, like I mentioned earlier, do 100 or so being it's an open road with only fellow participants. His insurance company won't be happy. Probably could drop him for this considering the total amount of liability (Pista alone is what, $500K, on average) plus the 488, and his 458 and whatever kind of car the commuter was driving. Gotta be close to $1M in liability in guessing? Some have said this could end the rally portion of the show. Could very well be the case. I know the city doesn't like this kind of notoriety. We'll see what happens in the coming weeks from CF Charities.
hmm, this got interesting all of a sudden. cops condone it, cops encourage to go fast, cops release rally cars before roadway is clear, accident happens. hmm.
They pretty much know what can happen. Exotic/supercars + open roads, = speed. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. And what I typed was only relayed to me by someone else who did the event several years ago. Take it with a grain of salt. But again, anyone can figure out what will happen with an open highway and high horsepower supercars. Accidents can happen. I never said the police were responsible or condone the speed, only that one told an acquaintance to get back to the start as fast as you can in a prior year event. But they do hold up traffic to allow the participants onto the highway. There are YouTube videos from prior years showing this police cruiser in road blocking traffic. They probably didn't expect some yahoo to go as fast as he did as this was the 1st crash in the event's history (as far as I know). They always say at cars & coffee events, it only takes one idiot to do something bad to ruin an event for everyone else. Had the driver of the 458 been doing 80 or so, NONE of this would have happened. In closing, I'm pretty darn sure the event people told the group doing the drive to drive within reason in terms of speed, and to be smart. It's a very very well run event that gives back to underprivileged people. The charity and people involved are wonderful people who do awesome things for those in need. Just this time someone tried to be Speed Racer in his Mach 5 and it was a bad result.
The whole concept sounds absurd to me. There is nothing about those roads that appeals to me, period. Ferrari or not. Well, if there’s any good news, sounds like there’ll be enough blame to spread around and lawyers to get involved. I do feel for the Pista driver and the underprivileged.
After watching this video several times on the big screen it looks to me like the black 488 was hauling the mail in the fast lane when he came up on what appears to be 2 cars stopped in the fast lane causing him to make an emergency maneuver, that caused him to lose control and hit the Pista the first time... Then swerving back and making contact with a car that appears to have avoided the 2 stopped cars initially... then the 488 takes the Pista to the wall under the bridge. looking closely at the 2 cars that appear to have been stopped in the fast lane may have been in an accident as well as the “ white “ car appears to be facing oncoming traffic as the “wing “ is facing the way normal traffic would flow... Maybe Im just seeing things... Steve
There is another video out there that was taken from a rear facing dash cam from the car directly in front the 488 that started it. Shows what happened perfectly and clearly.
Wow, what a mess. If I had known about this event I may have participated. Apparently, it was a good thing I didn't know about the event. This video at about the 34 minute mark shows the black Ferrari 488 losing control and smashing into the Pista and 458. It is without a doubt IMHO, that the crash was caused by the driver of the black 488 losing control under straight line braking. What a talentless moron. This was a cool chance for enthusiasts to participate in an event that allowed them to push their cars a bit (with the help of the Police) while also contributing to a worthy charity, yet this moron may have ruined these types of events for everyone. This really pisses me off...this is why we can't have nice things!!! There was also another incident (single car incident?) during this event involving a Subaru.
Found a video clip with the rearview camera. Also has a shot of the Subaru that crashed. Sorry for the tiktok link, couldn’t find it anywhere else though. https://www.tiktok.com/@125dan125/video/6970760562955275525 I can't imagine going that fast on that road, the pavement is not great and there is always a traffic jam at the merge onto 76. Surprisingly though it doesn't seem to have gotten much press so hopefully it won't ruin it for everyone.
Thank you for posting the video, it clearly shows there are at least two cars stopped in the fast lane, just prior to the black 488 braking and swerving to miss what clearly appears to be two cars stopped in the fast lane... its as if the 488 was hauling the mail, realized last minute that he has to swerve to avoid impact, then realized there was another Ferrari ( Pista ) in the lane he swerved into ( it sounded like they hit the 1st time ) the he heads left again making another impact, then rolling backwards into the now trapped Pista .. coming to rest under the bridge While it does not excuse the 488, is it least explains the they of maneuver that he was making when he lost control... just my .02 worth Steve
From what I've seen so far it's a bunch of donkeys that get thrown out of or get shutdown the c&c's in the DC area. I generally stay away.
Imagine if they took the underground tunnel on Spring Garden to the back of the museum. That would have been a loud drive
There are no cars stopped in the fast lane. They are probably driving at something closer to a normal speed for the road due to traffic that is in front of them. If it looks they are stopped, it is only because the person who caused the crash was driving so fast. I saw another comment on here alleging that the 488 was going much faster than the other fast moving (100mph) cars.
I was a passenger in the Pista and it was indeed a terrible morning….we had done the rally every year since it started (Great charity, great leadership) and as some mentioned, the rally itself was different this year in many ways, mainly with traffic control. Prayerfully everyone was ultimately safe and nobody was injured, cause it could’ve been so much worse. By dumb luck, the Pista (Red) had the least damage of the 3 of us involved, so thankful for that! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
No one has mentioned this and I'm surprised. The reason this wreck happened, beyond the idiocy of the 488 owner, is that the 488 owner had all traction control turned off. Unless you are an F1 driver, never do this on a city street. The obviously clue is when he stepped on the brakes that he had traction control off. I'm hopeful the car is financed and he isn't someone that doesn't have to pay for his mistakes so he'll learn from them.
It appears to me after looking at a couple of the videos the racer in the left lane wasn't paying attention. I don't believe the other cars were stopped but going more slowly for sure. I didn't see any brake lights from the black 488 and when he woke up and swerved it was over. What a shame. I have been to driving schools and been on track but I never put my car (a 458) in jeopardy or those around me. This person cause a lot of financial damage and destroyed some Italian Art. I hope other drivers take these videos at heart and drive within their capabilities.
I bet the insurance companies are going to fight this with everyone's insurance. They were all speeding. Be interested to know what the out come will be. Looked like a lack of talent and trying to show off.
I was in my FF a few cars behind the incident. While I DID NOT witness the incident, I can confirm two things. One, it was hard to see. As we went from bright sun to underpass my eyes had trouble adjusting and I had to "take it easy". Second, the cars in the left lane ahead of the black 488 were NOT stopped.