Driver who crashed $1m Bugatti supercar claimed to have been distracted by a pelican!

Jemmy · 01-12-2011 2:05pm #1

What a fool...

A driver who swerved a million-dollar supercar into a Texas swamp will have to convince a jury that he didn't purposely end up in the water in order to claim on an insurance policy which would have doubled his money.
Andy House, a car dealer from Lufkin, Texas, drove the French-built Bugatti Veyron - one of only 300 ever made - into a lagoon in LaMarque in November 2009.
The video of the incident was captured by car enthusiasts driving alongside him and has been watched 2.6 million times on YouTube.

Wacky races: Recovery worker Gilbert Harrison gets to work recovering the $1million Bugatti Veyron after the owner crashed it into a swamp in Texas

Gilbert Harrison of MCH Truck and Auto, who was called out to tow the vehicle at the time, said Mr House 'took the loss in his stride'.

Following the incident, the insurance company Philadelphia Indemnity sued Mr House for fraud.
The company claimed that the car dealer borrowed $1 million from a friend to buy the car and then bought insurance on it as a collector's vehicle, which valued it at more than $2 million. The driver said that he swerved off the road to avoid hitting a pelican, but the insurance company have argued that there was no pelican to be seen in the video.

Life in the fast lane: The $1 million French-built Bugatti Veyron - of which 300 were ever made - whizzes along the Texas road

Swerving: Car enthusiasts travelling parallel to the high speed super car capture on camera the moment it veers towards a lagoon

The company also said that they found no skid marks on the road and said the car expert 'left the vehicle running for over fifteen minutes while it was submerged until it died on its own causing unnecessary damage to the vehicle's engine'.
The federal magistrate Judge John R. Froeschner, who heard the insurance case at a summary hearing on November 10 in Galveston, decided he was not qualified to sort out the 'quizzical factual circumstances' and refused to settle the matter.
No date has yet been set for trial.

Making splash: The million-dollar car plunges into the water after the driver claimed to have been distracted by a low-flying pelican

Sinking feeling: The insurance company claimed at court earlier this month that Andy House intentionally

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2068442/Andy-House-crashed-1m-Bugatti-lagoon-faces-trial-insurance-scam-claim.html#ixzz1fI914zTt

Owen · 01-12-2011 2:07pm

Old news is so exciting!

Nissan doctor · 01-12-2011 2:10pm

I remember seeing the video originally, it certainly didn't look like he swerved, it was a very smooth run off the road, more like he fell asleep or something.

If it is an attempted scam he likely wasn't banking on someone catching it on camera!:P

Jemmy · 01-12-2011 2:14pm

Owen wrote: »

Old news is so exciting!

Sigh, some ppl are just so grumpy! :rolleyes:

Nissan doctor wrote: »

I remember seeing the video originally, it certainly didn't look like he swerved, it was a very smooth run off the road, more like he fell asleep or something.

If it is an attempted scam he likely wasn't banking on someone catching it on camera!:P

Havne't seen the video, & work has it blocked!

im invisible · 01-12-2011 2:16pm

Well, at least it wasnt a zebra...

opinion guy · 01-12-2011 2:40pm

im invisible wrote: »

Well, at least it wasnt a zebra...

Um i think a zebra in florida would be kinda distracting, no ?

BostonB · 01-12-2011 3:31pm

Nissan doctor wrote: »

I remember seeing the video originally, it certainly didn't look like he swerved, it was a very smooth run off the road, more like he fell asleep or something.

If it is an attempted scam he likely wasn't banking on someone catching it on camera!:P

+1 Looked very odd.