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Advertisement | Bizarre Twists In Crash Of $1M CarMystery Men From 'Homeland Security' Show Up At Accident SiteMALIBU, Calif. , March 3, 2006 ![]() ![]() Car Crashes, Splits In HalfInvestigators say the driver of a Ferrari was speeding at more than 100 mph when he lost control and slammed into a pole, splitting the expensive car in half. Paul Dandridge reports. | Share/Embed (CBS/AP) The plot continues to thicken as authorities try to unravel who was driving an exotic $1 million Ferrari that was traveling at an estimated 162 mph when it hit a power pole along Pacific Coast Highway and all but disintegrated. Then there's the matter of a loaded gun clip found at the crash scene, a $14 million yacht listed as a home address and a pair of mysterious men who showed up after the crash and identified themselves as "homeland security" officers. "It's like a James Bond story," Sgt. Philip Brooks of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Thursday. "But I just want to find out who was driving the Ferrari." Stefan Eriksson, who owned the red Ferrari Enzo — one of only 400 made — escaped the Feb. 21 crash with only a cut lip. Authorities said Eriksson told them he was a passenger in the car and that the driver, a German acquaintance he only knew as Dietrich, ran into the nearby hills. Deputies launched a three-hour foot and helicopter search but failed to turn up Dietrich. Eriksson also said the Ferrari was in a race with a Mercedes SLR, whose driver took off after leaving behind its passenger — a friend of Eriksson that authorities were only identifying as "Trevor." "We believe (Dietrich) no longer exists and that the Ferrari was racing by itself and there were no Mercedes," Brooks said. Only the driver's side air bag had blood on it, and Eriksson suffered a cut lip, Brooks noted. Eriksson agreed Wednesday to submit a DNA sample but refused to be interviewed by investigators. "We want to see if his blood matches the blood in the Ferrari," Brooks said. Eriksson's attorney, Ashley Posner, declined to discuss the crash with The Associated Press. Eriksson's blood-alcohol level after the crash was .09, slightly more than the legal .08 limit, Brooks said. If it is determined he was the Ferrari driver, he could be charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving and providing false information to authorities, Brooks said. Then there's the mystery of the loaded gun magazine. According to Brooks, a motorist who stopped to offer help allowed Trevor to use a cell phone in his car. The motorist later discovered the magazine stuck in the driver seat of his vehicle, Brooks said. In another twist, Trevor provided deputies with a home address that is a boat slip in Marina Del Rey. The slip houses a $14 million yacht. Meanwhile, investigators are trying to find two unidentified men who showed up at the site of the crash, claiming to be "homeland security" officers from a nonprofit transit authority. The two men spoke with Eriksson, who told investigators that he, too, was a deputy commissioner of the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority, which provides free transportation for the disabled in the suburbs east of Los Angeles. The San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority's Web site lists the agency's address as 148 E. Lemon Ave. in Monrovia. The location is Homer's Auto Service, an auto repair shop. Brooks said he referred the matter to the sheriff's terrorism unit for investigation. He said detectives believe the two men from "homeland security" received their badges from the transit authority. The transit authority denied sending anyone to the wreckage. "To our knowledge, no one from the transit authority went to the scene, and if they did, they were not authorized to do so," said Posner, who also serves as chairman of the transit authority's board of directors. Officials in cities that the agency serves questioned why a small transit authority would need a police department. "We warned them that if the police agency operated with them in the city of Monrovia, it would jeopardize their (transit) agreement with us," Monrovia City Manager Scott Ochoa said. Posner said Eriksson was given an honorary position with the organization after he helped develop a video surveillance system for use in transit buses. As for the destroyed car, the Ferrari company told Brooks it could be shipped to Italy and fixed for $200,000 to $300,000. ©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report | Advertisement Bush: Skipping Olympics Would Be An InsultIn Japan For G-8 Summit, President Says U.S. Economy Not As Robust As He'd Like |
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