Back in 2009, an FBI agent made headlines after crashing a rare $750,000 Ferrari F50 that had been stored in a government impound lot. The story has it that the Italian supercar was stolen from a Pennsylvania dealer in late 2003, and while the insurance company paid off on the loss, the F50 was eventually found in August of 2008 in Kentucky. The V12-powered model from Maranello was then impounded and kept in Lexington, Kentucky, as part of an active criminal investigation. And here’s where the story gets interesting.
In May of 2009, FBI agent Fred Kingston invited Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Hamilton Thompson for a “short ride” in the 1995 Ferrari F50, of which 349 were ever made with only 50 coming to the States. Unfortunately, the joy ride was cut short after the driver lost control of the Italian supercar.
“Just a few seconds after we left the parking lot, we went around a curve and the rear of the car began sliding,” Thompson said in an email released to Motors Insurance Co., the dealer’s insurer. “The agent tried to regain control but the car fishtailed and slid sideways up onto the curb. The vehicle came to rest against a row of bushes and a small tree,” Thompson added.
Motors Insurance, which took ownership of the F50 after paying off the dealer for the theft, examined the vehicle after the crash and determined that it was a total loss. Now, you would assume that the U.S. Department of Justice would be an avid supporter of the “you break it, you pay for it” policy.
Well, guess again; the government says it is not liable for certain goods when they are in the hands of law enforcement! Furthermore, the insurer claims that the Justice Department won’t publish most of the documents it has in relation to the accident.
As a result, Motors Insurance is now suing the U.S. Justice Department for $750,000, which is the cost of the F50. The case is scheduled to continued with a new court hearing on June 13 in Detroit.
Source: Washington Post , Photos courtesy of Wrecked Exotics
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