He actually blamed the accident on the stick shift, and sadly he probably believes that’s a valid excuse…
Just seeing this 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition crashed and broken is breaking my heart. After all, these American supercars are so cool and deserve to be treated with respect. Instead, a guy who reportedly paid a ton of money for the thing but admittedly doesn’t know what he’s doing wrecked such a beautiful machine. This just goes to show that having a bundle of cash and buying a cool car doesn’t make you an enthusiast.
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The guy in question, 50-year-old Robert J. Guarini, was driving his newly acquired Ford GT out of his housing development in Boca Raton, Florida when he wrecked out in horrific fashion. He told police he lost control of the supercar when he downshifted, the vehicle veering head-on into a palm tree. Photos of the accident scene show the car is sitting up on the sidewalk, at least several feet from a tree, so the impact had to have been pretty violent.
As if anyone had to ask, the report specified Guarini told police he’s “unfamiliar with how to drive stick shift.” I’d say he’s unfamiliar with how to drive anything other than a Nissan Altima. Not everyone ought to have a high-powered, rear-wheel-drive car with a manual transmission. It’s too much car for a lot of drivers, even if they think it’s cool and they have the money to buy such a thing.
In the most Boomer move I’ve seen in a while, Guarini didn’t have his cellphone on him when he crashed. That’s literally one of the top reasons to have your phone with you when you go for a drive. Also, you can live tweet the results of your boneheaded maneuver that resulted in a heartbreaking accident involving a palm tree. The guy got a ride back to his house and called the cops on a landline, instead of grabbing his cellphone and talking to them while walking back to the crash.
Now here’s the real kicker: if the listed VIN on the police report is correct, this car was sold at Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach in early April for $704,000. I don’t know if this guy bought the car or he bought it off the person who did, but this yet again proves money doesn’t buy sense or driving skills, unless you use that money to take track lessons.
Speaking of no sense, Guarini reportedly was cited for driving with a suspended license and issued a warning for operating an unregistered vehicle. In other words, it sounds like this isn’t the guy’s first rodeo.
I hope this car is repaired. Whoever bought it obviously has a lot of money, so they should be able to afford what will be an expensive job. As for people like Guarini, they should stick to Forza and driving tamer cars in real life, or maybe take some solid lessons from professionals who know what they’re doing.
Source: Yahoo
Photos via Facebook
