[DeTomaso] NPC: Video of Bugatti Veyron Crash

[Dan Mixon]

>From the local ABC station:

LA MARQUE, TX (KTRK) -- Imagine driving an exotic sports car worth more than
a million dollars -- then crashing it into a marsh. A driver of a Bugatti
did just that, splashing into the water in La Marque. Other drivers on the
road caught video of the crash, as they dreamed of owning the rare machine.
 
The Bugatti's driver told police that he swerved to miss a pelican. Tow
truck drivers had to pull it out of a couple feet of water.
 
The owner of the car says he has lots of exotic cars, including Ferraris,
Corvettes and Porsches, but he says it's the Bugatti that's his favorite.
That's why he says it was a "heartbreak" when it was driven into the water.
 
You can't help but wince when you see one of the most expensive cars in the
world stuck in a salt water lagoon. Wreck driver Gilbert Harrison waded out
in the waist deep water to pull out the exotic 2006 Bugatti Veyron EB.
 
"When I got here it was still running. Right after I got here the car died,"
Harrison recalled. "The officers say (it ran) about 15 minutes."
 
Harrison says the tire tracks show where the car veered into the water.
According to the La Marque police department, Andy House, 34, was driving
northbound in the 700 block of the Gulf Freeway Wednesday af about 3pm.
Authorities say House was distracted by something and failed to dive in a
single marked lane. His car left the roadway, coming to rest in the water.
 
According to their website, Performance Auto Sales in Lufkin is run by
House.

House told Eyewitness News on Friday, "When I reached and picked up my phone
I must have actually caught a glare, which appeared to be a flying object at
the time. (It) happened so fast, as you can see, that it was out of my
control."
 
Harrison said, "I knew it was an expensive car, but it's no different than
any other tow, just recovered the vehicle."

At the wrecker yard, even covered in mud the car is stunning, with 1001
horsepower, the engine in the back and a speedometer that reads a top speed
of 280 miles per hour. It gave Harrison pause for reflection.
 
"I've never seen before but, you know, it's nice to see one," he said. "I
won't ever see another one."
 
House says he plans to repair the car and drive it again.
 
The Bugatti car company was founded in France in 1909, and is now owned by
Volkswagen. The Bugatti Veyron, like the car involved in this accident, is
the fastest manufactured car you can buy. It's said to go from zero to 60 in
less than three seconds. The cars are handmade and to reach top speed of
over 200 miles per hour, you have to have a special key.