Ex-Gizmondo exec walks from wreckage - of $1m Ferrari

Car totalled

Picture exclusive Former Gizmondo Europe executive Stefan Eriksson was this week involved in a car crash that shredded in his million-dollar Ferrari Enzo. Eriksson, who told police he was not the driver of the vehicle, walked away from the impact with cuts and bruises.

The accident took place on State Highway 1 in Malibu, California. The car left the road and hit a telegraph and power pole which ripped it in half. Eye-witnesses said the crash took place just after 6AM and caused local homes to lose their electricity supply.

"It took out the pole, and part of the car went another 600 feet," Sheriff's Sergeant Philip Brooks told the LA Times. "There were 1,200 feet of debris out there."

According to local witnesses, the engine was left in the middle of the five-lane road. Of the rest of the car, only the passenger compartment remained intact. Firefighters present at the scene said: "This is a testament to Ferrari engineering."

Brooks said Eriksson told police the driver was a German man named Dietrich who ran away from the scene of the accident and evaded a police search. Brooks noted Eriksson "had a bloody lip, and only the airbag on the driver's side had blood on it".

Brooks also said Eriksson's blood was tested for alcohol and found to be over the legal limit. One local witness alleged Eriksson also appeared intoxicated. However, police said Eriksson had not been arrested and was being considered by the investigation as a passenger.

"We're continuing our investigation," said Brooks. "He's not in custody."

Eriksson quit Gizmondo Europe in October 2005 after the Swedish press revealed he had received a number of criminal convictions in the mid-1990s. Eriksson joined the firm when Gizmondo Europe acquired his Swedish games development company, Indie Studios, in August 2004.

Eriksson's Enzo was a 2003 model of which only 400 were made. ®

Images copyright © 2006, Hans Laetz.