Father buys 18yr old son Ferrari F430 Scuderia for his birthday, dead within 2 week

[Carbonfiberfoot]

This is sad, but I'm not really sure what else the father expected to happen when he decided to give his 18 year old son a twitchy 508hp/2977lb super car.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/t...ns-in-a/nShLf/

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/ferarri...lpharet/nSmmd/

[SgtCHP]

Too bad! As is typical, an innocent passenger was critically injured. Spoiled children do foolish things. All children are silly; but, in my experience, it is the more wealthy kids who get expensive toys and destroy them while trying to prove they are adults - they are still kids!

[PhilipCal]

It's been said, "Some people can only handle so much education". It's equally true that some people can only handle so much automobile.

Sad as it is, a life has been lost, another seriously endangered. What I suspect though, is that soooo many parents simply won't get the message implicit in this tragedy.

[GangGreen712]

When I was 16, a few months before I got my license, I had the misfortune of riding with a cross country team member on the way to team party. He was driving a Ford Taurus at 110 mph on the back roads. Scared beyond $#!tless doesn't even begin to describe me at the time! I can only imagine what he would be doing with a Ferrari like that...I probably wouldn't be here to tell you. Needless to say, that was the last time I ever got near a car with him. He crashed a few days later and totaled his car, somehow walking away without a scratch. His parents bought him a new one...and he crashed that a few months later too.

Regular cars and teenagers are a dangerous mix. Sports cars and teenagers don't mix...ever.

[VA Dutch]

That is why my soon-to-be-driving son is likely to be getting a decade-old "plain Jane" sedan with a four-cylinder engine (no turbos, superchargers, etc.) and a lot of miles on it. He will also have his learner's permit a LONG TIME before he drives solo.

[headonstraight]

VA Dutch, who's the nick cage looking dude in your AV?

[Paul150]

Heard this story on the radio. This kind of stuff is depressing. Wasn't it only a few years ago that some kids took a BMW M5 out to a small airport in FL and all got killed in a crash? Some people unfortunately never learn until it's too late that teens and supercars don't mix. Prayers with the family.

And headonstraight, that looks like Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach from the Shield in VA Dutch's avatar.

[99 Fenix]

i wonder how much he can sell those rims for?

[85rx-7gsl-se]

When I was 16, a few months before I got my license, I had the misfortune of riding with a cross country team member on the way to team party. He was driving a Ford Taurus at 110 mph on the back roads. Scared beyond $#!tless doesn't even begin to describe me at the time! I can only imagine what he would be doing with a Ferrari like that...I probably wouldn't be here to tell you. Needless to say, that was the last time I ever got near a car with him. He crashed a few days later and totaled his car, somehow walking away without a scratch. His parents bought him a new one...and he crashed that a few months later too.

Regular cars and teenagers are a dangerous mix. Sports cars and teenagers don't mix...ever.

I am going to have to beg to differ just from personal experience. While maybe accurate as a general rule, like anything there are always exceptions.

[PhilipCal]

It was my experience, based on many years of investigating traffic accidents, including fatalities, that the facts presented in the thread are all too true. While there may be the rare exception, events such as that described are facts and occur all too often. I believe that's the point and message of the thread.

[85rx-7gsl-se]

No doubt. A lot has to do with the maturity of the driver, not their numeric age

[ateamer]

VA Dutch, who's the nick cage looking dude in your AV?

That is LAPD Detective Holland Wagenbach. Farmington district. He hasn't been in the public eye much the last couple years.

[1st Class Bail Bonds]

No doubt. A lot has to do with the maturity of the driver, not their numeric age

I agree with you. Its just the mental stability that counts while driving. I have seen teenagers driving beautifully and mid aged adults doing all the things they shouldn't. 18 yrs is the age when even government allows people to drive, so it means that age is mature enough to understand road safety and drive. If i can afford to buy a chopper for my son and if he wants that, wouldn't I buy that for him? What matters is I should know if he can drive that well... its not the fault of the parents who buy those super toys for their kids, its the fault of that mind which causes those fatalities.

[Koala45]

A kid I knew back in high school got a Lamborghini Murcielago for his 18th birthday, which is actually a more difficult car to drive. Unlike the kid this thread is about, he raced motorcycles and cars and never had an issue with the car.

[85rx-7gsl-se]

A kid I knew back in high school got a Lamborghini Murcielago for his 18th birthday, which is actually a more difficult car to drive. Unlike the kid this thread is about, he raced motorcycles and cars and never had an issue with the car.

Awd more difficult to drive than rwd?