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Ferrari crash involves alcohol, speed and a white Porsche, police say [UPDATED]

March 11, 2009 | 10:00 am
A Newport Beach police officer at the scene of a  fatal accident involving a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano in Newport Beach.
Click on image for photo gallery.

A bizarre car crash in Newport Beach involving two luxury cars early this morning left one person dead, a second injured, a third arrested for gross vehicular manslaughter and a fourth person was detained by police.

An acquaintance of the victim identified him as Charles "Mask" Lewis, co-founder of the mixed-martial-arts apparel company TapouT, which also sponsors fighters. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A Newport Beach Police Department officer who witnessed the wreck and saw a red Ferrari and a white Porsche "spinning out of control" on Jamboree Road between Bison Avenue and East Bluff Drive at 12:57 a.m., Newport Beach Lt. Craig Fox said. The Ferrari "hit the curb and then collided with a pole." The Porsche came to a stop at the scene for a few seconds and then sped away, Fox said.

"It was terrible. It was extensive damage to the vehicle," Fox said, adding that the Ferrari appeared to have split in half.

Lanowferraricrash12 A woman in the Ferrari was ejected during the accident and taken to a hospital, where she was in stable condition, Fox said. He said police have not determined which one was driving and which one was the passenger.

Police located the Porsche on Bison Avenue just west of Jamboree Road shortly afterward and saw a man and a woman walking away from the car.

"The vehicle had moderate damage and appeared to be consistent with the car involved in the accident on Jamboree," Fox said. "They determined that the male had been driving the Porsche, and he was arrested" for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, he said.

Police identified the driver of the Porsche as Jeffrey David Kirby, 51, of Costa Mesa, and said his bail was set at $1 million. Newport Beach resident Lynn Marie Nabozny, 32, was a passenger in the Porsche and was arrested for public intoxication. She was released about 7:45 a.m. and will not be formally charged, Fox said. He said the investigation is ongoing but that police identified skid marks at the scene "consistent with excessive speeding."

The speed limit on that stretch of road is 50 mph.

See raw video from the scene.

-- Ari B. Bloomekatz

Photo: A Newport Beach police officer at the scene of a  fatal accident involving a Ferrari in Newport Beach. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

 Previous coverage: Flashback to 2006 Ferrari crash in Malibu

The Plot Thickens in Ferrari Crash

Life in Fast Lane Long Before Ferrari Crash

Man held in Ferrari crash case - Officials say mystery witness was actually a passenger


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Aside from the German autobahn, almost every road in the world (including Italian autostrada) has a speed limit no higher than 120 kph or 75 mph. So why do we continue to build, import and license vehicles specifically designed to go more than twice the legal limits?

The car involved was a Ferrari 360 modena, they stopped making them for a few years.You can get them for $80,000 now. this was not a 599, they look nothing alike. I saw the accident scene personally as well, the car is in three large pieces. you should be more accurate with your stories.

If this was a Camaro no one would have cared, but when a Ferrrari crashes it brings news vans from all over southern California. Here is a scoop for the news folks: It's not a 599! The 599 has the engine in the front, and you can see in the picture that the "hood" is open showing a front trunk. This appears to be a F430, which can be found at half the price of a 599.

that's a ferrari 360, not a 599...

I am always mystified by comments such as "skidmarks consistent with speeding." Does this mean consistent with acceleration or deceleration, or speeding to a heavenly rest, or precisely what??? Both the Porsche and Ferrari have anti-skid brakes, so what kind of consistency do we have here??? There are always skidmarks experts who have absolutely no idea of what the tire marks mean other than that there was eventually a collision with a solid object. Ralph L. Seifer, Long Beach

Small correction to my earlier post: The maximum speed limit on the Italian autostrada is 130 kph (about 80 mph) in dry conditions. It's lower in wet conditions, and much lower for trucks.

what a mess...

Someone was just killed in a horrible accident and you are talking about the cars engine????

I guess the driver "TappedOut"???

Even with anti-lock brakes, once the car starts going sideways, you get skid marks.

The car in the pic is a F360 as mentioned by Chris. And yeah, what's the deal with "skidmarks consistent with speeding" bs? So if someone is going the speed limit and brakes abruptly and leaves a skid mark(s) and crashes this means the driver of the vehicle was speeding? Correlation does not imply causation! Where do they get these guys?! LOL.

Skidmarks consistent with speeding means that the length of the skid is such that the car would have slowed significantly more than 50mph during it. I would have thought that was pretty obvious. It doesn't matter what sort of brakes you have, basic momentum and friction will tell you whether a skidmark could have been created by a car travelling at or below the speed limit.

To the poster who said the cars have "anti-skid" brakes, isn't the term "anti-lock" brakes? The reason I make the distinction is this: a tire doesn't have to lock up in order to leave rubber on the road. The brakes prevent the wheel from --locking up---. However, in extremely rapid deceleration, there is a tremendous force between the tire and road, and so I would expect it to leave some rubber.

Or, a completely different explanation: if the vehicle were skidding sideways or partially sideways, the anti-lock brakes would make no difference.

bobskis wrote: "why do we continue to build, import and license vehicles specifically designed to go more than twice the legal limits? "

Right Bob, why don't we all just stay at home wearing helmets and eating soft foods? Everyone has their own personal acceptable degree of safety. For some people, there will always be a need to go fast, and the smart ones will do it on a track. There are lots of tracks in a few hour's drive of LA. Unfortunately, there will always be some people with more $$ than brains who will take themselves out of the gene pool.

If this would have been two American cars involved in the accident, I don't think this would have made any news at all. The fact that it's expensive vehicles involved, says it all!!!

Drinking and driving lead to death no matter what kind of vehicle you drive or where the engine is, how much the car cost...there is never an excuse even for alcoholics (now,how many idiots will write and say how do I know the drivers were alcoholics)

Who cares what kind of Ferrari it WAS and by they way, it received coverage because "something" happended in Newport Beach, not because it was a "Ferrari" and not a "Camaro".

So wait - who died and who was the woman?

"An unidentified man in the Ferrari was pronounced dead. A woman in the car was ejected during the accident and taken to a hospital, where she was in stable condition, Fox said. He said police have not yet determined which one was driving and which one was the passenger." _
None of the follow up stories discuss any of this!

The car in the pic is a F360 as mentioned by Chris. And yeah, what's the deal with "skidmarks consistent with speeding"? So if someone is going the speed limit and brakes abruptly and leaves a skid mark(s) and crashes this means the driver of the vehicle was speeding? Correlation does not imply causation! Where do they get these guys?! LOL.

It's too bad that more emphasis is being put on the fact that they are luxury cars instead of the victims themselves. As a society as a whole, we're pretty backwards.

Of course its always tragic when someone loses their life, but this is the price of playing street racer with your friends. Hopefully someone will learn from someone elses' heartache. Hopefully it was the driver, not the passenger that was killed. To Bobskis's comment... are you suggesting we not allow fast cars to be produced? That is asinine. Many people enjoy having a fast car and use them responsibly including taking them to the racetrack. Your comment is irresponsible and smacks of ignorance. What do we do next outlaw cheeseburgers because they contribute to heart disease?

Unidentified man = Charles Lewis Jr. Owner of TapOut. aka Mask.

When cops round up illegal street racers, instead of a simple tow and ticket, the cops sometimes impound the vehicle and crush it so it can't be illegally raced again... I wonder if that would apply here to the porsche... Instead of crushing souped up hondas, crushing this porsche would send a bigger message, no? Must've been a horrific crash for the cops to not know who the driver of the ferrari was... just lucky that this happened late at night with few other potential victims...

I understand the comments mentioning in dismay that this was a deadly and, really, head shaking accident. But as for the comments surrounding the cars: this is to be expected. The Times wouldn't have given a hoot if this involved some hondas heading to work/home. In fact, I clicked on the story link to find out what kind of Porsche it was (I don't care much for Italian cars). There is no mention about the Porsche's model. Hmm I wonder if it was at least a 911...

The picture looks like the engine (sitting behind the driver and passenger) pushed into the cabin and crushed the male while the female was luckily ejected. Maybe ferraris need a seat booster with parachutes... the 2006 Enzo's crash in Malibu shows the driver 'tub' fully protected and enclosed even when the car split in two as it is designed... not this one though.

It was one of the founders of Tap Out, Mask, who was driving the Ferrari.

But we build cars that go faster than 75 mph because a lot of us, take them to the track, race them, enjoy them, there is a reason they are called "enthusiast cars".

Yes, its obvious that Ferraris and Porches are more interesting than Cameros. And, this is the type of news story that appeals to something in us other than sympathy or pity for the dead or injured. They seem like willing participants in a blood sport that turned out badly. What I don't get, without further information, is prosecuting the driver of the Porsche for anything more than reckless driving or drunk driving -- did he do anything to make the Ferrari crash? I mean, come on, willing participants have it out on the street and one of them goes over the high side -- why is the better driver guilty of anything other than his own vehicle code violations?

I have a hard time with the word "accident" here based on the obvious speed that was involved. Much as I like fast cars, I have a hard time wondering why 200 MPH machines are licensed on public roads. Playing NASCAR bumper cars at 100 MPH plus is lunacy, sorry, guys.

Rest in Peace my good friend, Will all miss u very much u were a good friend and a good man, thank u for helping all the fighters in the word u will be missed for ever. your friend Brian Durkee.... :(

As a Porsche purist, I can tell you guys have no idea what you're talking about. There is a white porsche turbo that always races on Jamboree rd. Did they say what kind of porsche it was?

Rest in peace, Charles. You did far more for the MMA world than just sell tee-shirts. You supported fighters, gave publicity to shows, were unfailingly positive and enthusiastic even in the toughest of times, and believed in the better side of people. MMA will never be the same without you around.

"Aside from the German autobahn, almost every road in the world (including Italian autostrada) has a speed limit no higher than 120 kph or 75 mph."

Even most parts of the German Autobahn have speed limits. 130KPH is the norm.
There are only a few stretches of Autobahn left without speed limit.
What's important is that the Autobahn is built for high speed. At 130MPH you don't want to hit a pothole, or even some rough road. And yes, I have driven a Porsche at 130MPH on the German Autobahn.

Street racing has to be stopped...whether it's a expensive car or not..ENOUGH ALREADY!

The drivers chose to get behind those wheels...thank God they didn't kill any innocent people in the process!

Regardless, they were both drunk little boys with fast toys and had no regard for human life, not even their own. Now everyone will pick up their broken toys and lives after them. One man continued to break the law over and over again (the one in the Porsche) and I don't know about the other but he obviously didn't care about anyone but himself, considering how he was driving.

The car is (was) a 360 Modena. The type of car it is does not matter. You can get yourself killed in a Hyundai just as easily if you push beyond your limits, but nothing brings out the gawkers like a totaled exotic. Sorry but I just don't have any sympathy for the idiots who drive like this on public roads. If you want to go fast, learn how to do it on a track and away from innocent civilians. Live fast, die young, make the 11 o'clock news. Yawn, time for bed.

It's a 430 Scuderia.
Surprising to see it ripped through the middle -- that concrete pole is a murderous thing to put next to a road regardless of the stupidity of the driver.

This photo shows the (mid-mounted) engine unmoved. Note the distinctive (enormous) carbon ceramic brakes and the Scuderia carbon fiber seat.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ferrari-crash12-pg,0,3987500.photogallery?index=5

IMHO - there are just so many things wrong with this story.
2 vehicles worth over $500,000 while we are in a depression?
the death was practically predictible.

Two rich drunks driving fancy sports cars racing.One is dead and the other is in jail,so be it.

I talked to a CHP officer about this once - he said you can tell from the pattern of the skid marks what speed the car was going at.

To bad this happened to some talented people. If you're going to play, you're going to pay.

Skid marks "consistent with excessive speeding" means exactly that. That is to say, a car traveling at 30 miles an hour cannot leave skid marks of, oh say, 100 feet in length, while a car traveling 100 miles an hour could easily leave 100 foot skids. A simple physics course would bolster that point, regardless of any "sideways or partially sideways" skidding or what 2 Fast 2 Furious might have us believe.

However, since a man died and a couple others were wounded as a result of this crash lets focus on the important aspects of this story: whether the Ferrari involved was a 599, 430 or 360. Yes, this is where our priorities lay.

Joe wrote:
"And yes, I have driven a Porsche at 130MPH on the German Autobahn."

I am guessing it was nowhere near Munich. Last time I was there, traffic was so bad in places that I barely got above 40km. I am guessing you were between Frankfurt and Stuttgart?

This is HORRIBLE!!!!!
What a shame to that poor Ferrari...RIP little beauty

get the facts right. the one that was killed in the ferrrari was NOT drunk. dont go bashing ppl u dont know. i know the 2 in the ferrari very well and u have no idea how great of ppl they were. they do not drink and this is the hardest time for us since we are family. please keep that in mind the victims DO have family. thanks

No evidence either driver was drunk - it is one passenger who was drunk. But everyone here is so envious of the rich they're eager to pile on, so never mind pesky facts.

bobskis - some of us take our car to track days. Or in my case, my motorcycle.

Sounds like someone 'tapped' him a bit too hard. Tradin paint on the street gets you in for a whole lot of pain.

Boraxo, were you physically present when the accident happened? Or were you present with the people involved just prior to the incident to know for a FACT that no one was drunk except for the porsche passenger? In what scenrio would a person drink by themselves? If the porsche passenger was drunk, the driver of the porsche was probably also drunk. Either way, IMO, either the ferrari or the porsche tried to overtake and cut off the other car, but due to the lack of space (or superior speed or driving skills) resulted in a self induced pit manuever and sent both cars spinning out of control... I wasn't there, just speculation. And people here don't seem to be piling on anything because everyone is jealous of the rich... are you reading the same comments? What are you smoking?

I have a seriously modified Lotus Esprit Turbo. I drive her to Vegas and Indian Casinos seldom around town. And I ususally set out on these trips at un-Godly hours in the morning.Why? Corvette guy a guy mt age [a guy in his 40's-50's]wants to race cause he thinks I think I am better than him.Porche guy tends to be better behaved since he know how much it's costs to own and maint. these machines.Also tends to be better educated than Corvette guy.Then there is Modified Truck Dude wants to tail gate me until he get's a look at me...I look like a cross between Rampage Jackson and Eddie George...need I say more? Then there is Asian Kid has nitro in his 84 Honda Whatever with the oversized exhaust.Willing to risk it all since his mom pays the insurance. Moral of the story is when you have a rigs like these people are going to want to race ,leave the racing to Lewis Hamilton , Kimi and Jeff they get paid a ton to risk death.

Only a 360? Heck, now it's not even a story....

wow - you would think that a car that expense would keep you safe if you crash. that car tore apart into little pieces. besides everything else, someone's life got taken and there's going to be alot of people hurting behind such a silly act. think before you do things people and avoid hurting those that love you.

Regardless of whether those involved were drunk or sober, this is obviously the result of illegal street racing. The good thing is that they managed to only kill people in the offending vehicles and not innocent bystanders. And as far as those who were hurt, killed or jailed... boo hoo. Take your millions of dollars and buy yourself some sympathy. Or go cry on the shoulders of your country club members.

"I have driven on the autobahn" < how cool is this guy??? haha
and Why doesn't LATimes put clickable interactive map in place of the lame one up there? hint: Google maps. welcome to the internet, LATimes.

They should heavily tax cars with outrageous horse power and after market crap. No one needs that much power for these US crappy roads. You'll be safer racing a Prius and a Fusion hybrid.

"No evidence either driver was drunk - it is one passenger who was drunk. But everyone here is so envious of the rich they're eager to pile on, so never mind pesky facts."

The driver of the Porsche was arrested for gross vehicular manslaughter _while intoxicated_.

Intoxicated - to affect temporarily with diminished physical and mental control by means of alcoholic liquor, a drug, or another substance, esp. to excite or stupefy with liquor.

The Porsche driver may not have been "drunk," but I would bet he was driving under the influence.

Regardless, this was two adults that should have known better than to race their cars on a public street.

The true tragedy lies in the fact that someone without even a modicum of intellect can amass such a fortune.

@ calpoly:
There is little sympathy for your "friends" who risk the lives of others by doing stupid stunts like this.
But there are multiple good things that happened:
No innocents were hurt
One less idiot street racer to risk lives
Another one going to jail.
Alls well that ends well.

"Street racing has to be stopped...whether it's a expensive car or not..ENOUGH ALREADY!"

We had a traffic fatality here one time that was due to some kids racing. The person who hit the pedestrians CLAIMED that his brakes failed, but I found out later that he was trying to get a teen girl to race him. Tragic.


Obama should solve this!

They say youth is wasted on the young.

I suppose money is wasted on the rich, sometimes.

In this case, money was also wasted on the stupid. I mean, really stupid - felony stupid.

If they had come up on some Joe puttering along at 50mph, this coulda been really bad.

It is true that racing is completely irresponsible.However many people still do it every single day.Charles "Mask" Lewis has lost his life and has paid the ultimate price for his mistake.He was a pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts and built that company from very humble beginings.This is an extremely sad day.Two lives are lost.A self made millionare is dead and there are people on this acting asif they were God himself .Passing out judgement.I'm deeply saddened by some of your comments on this forum.

anyone care to speculate as to when the streets water sprnklers were last on and if they had been on at the time of the accident, and would the city admit it if they were?
I mean really so long as we are talking gross manslaughter here?
I am sorry to say, it would be just like some civil servant who knows this area is a magnet for this sort of speeding to do such a thing?

Just so everyone understands, "skid-marks consistent with excessive speeding" is refering to how the car spun out. It did not make a straight line into the light pole. i saw the aftermath of the accident at 5 this morning and i must say, you don't have to be an expert to tell that this ferrari must have been going 100+ judging by the 200-300 feet that it spun before it hit. I just couldnt believe my eyes.

sean k. that is rude. these people were my family. be careful what you say. if it happen to you and ur family u would not just saying boo hoo o well. think about it.

I think there's alot of people ranting and raving bout stuff that they have no clue over....! A man died, a well respected man died.... My heart and prayers go out to the family of the mask....

If u read the story carefully it was a 1977 porche! And the skid marks linked that porche to the scene which lead them to believe excess speeds were hit.... By the way I take my car to 154mph everymorning and it's a subaru I'm sure the car did not crash cause it wanted to he was prolly forced off the rd.

I just really wish some of you people would really stop and think before you open your mouths. I mean with everything about Charles that was good and what he did for our sport set aside... There is some one here who has lost a son, a brother, a lot who have lost a friend, and millions who have lost their inspiration.
No one reserves the right to cast judgment here. Turn around and put your self in the family's shoes... what if it were your son or your brother that just died from making a bad decision... would you appreciate people on here or any where for that matter talking crap about him? The answer is, no you wouldn't. So I challenge all of you that spoke with out thought to delete or re-write your statements. If not, that is your choice but if some one were to do some research and found out who you were and where you lived...
RIP Charles "Mask" Lewis Jr.
Love you Bro and now we know
we have one more ANGEL in heaven looking down and guiding us.

First of all, let me say my prayers are with the Family of Mr. Lewis and the bretheren at TapouT. Secondly, my thoughts go out to the MMA world, a true pioneer was lost. And lastly, to those comments berating the man and the unfortunate mistake.. Becareful what you say and how you speak of those who have passed. A man lost his life and others may lose their freedom. Those of you with harsh words and tough talk might want to reconsider, this man was loved and respected and his reputation will be guarded.

Take Care Brother Mask.. You will be missed..

Flatline Wear Mourns The Loss Of Mr. Charles Lewis Jr.

A Baptista AKA BALLISTIC

While tragic this is the price of taking risk, rest in peace.

That stretch of road right there does seem to be ideal for someone to speed a bit.

I'm really good at keeping at the speed limit, but it's a nicely paved road.

Such a waste of a life; and I hope the lady who was injured will make a full recovery.
I can't help feeling that there should be a higher driving test that people must pass before being able to drive cars like Ferrari and Porsche.
If it were introduced it might save many lives.

I don't think speed racing or what type of cars involved in the accident are the issues here. The fact of the matter is that people were driving while intoxicated. Too many deaths occur each year because of DWI related car crashes. There need to be harsher consequences for people who drive while under the influence of alcohol.

I cant understand the negative remarks left here,it's a shame people have to be so cruel! This man was a legend for what he did for MMA !!! He was also a person who deserves respect regardless of your ignorance!!He will be greatly missed!!!!

Driving after drinking should be banned. This will save the life of both.

The main problem here is driving under the influence of alchohal. I don't understand why people drive after drink and risk their and others lives??

We need to stop street racing...whether we are talking about expensive cars with big engines, or any cars!!

There is so much traffic fatality because of kids racing... and because of alcohol... how many people I know have told me about driving drunk home the night before, knowing how dangerous it was, but all they cared about was not to get caught by the police

I don't understand people's obsession with cars and speed... Why is it so important for people to have big engine cars, that can go that fast, or that can make that much noise.

Even worst here is that we are talking about mature people... a 51 years old man. You would think that he would have more maturity than that? We are constantly talking about educating our kids and youth... But what do you do when a role model acts like this?

We have to make special places for people who love speed where they will drive safety e.g. speedways or tracks! It will be useful and safe for society.

That was a very tragic accident. I cannot understand why people cannot just stop themselves driving when they are drunk. They know very well that driving drunk is very dangerous to oneself or others. baby shower games

That was a very tragic accident. I cannot understand why people cannot just stop themselves driving when they are drunk. They know very well that driving drunk is very dangerous to oneself or others. baby shower games

The type of car it is does not matter.

You can get yourself killed in a Hyundai just as easily if you push beyond your limits,

but nothing brings out the gawkers like a totaled exotic.

TMJ

They should be more proactive about using alcohol when driving. Education and newer technology would help.

This is so terrible!
Yes the guy who is responsible got arrested but it does not reverse what happened.
We constantly hear about tragic accidents and the authorities are using scare tactics in ads to educate us of the dangers and to show the consequences..but we just don't learn

This great kind of car is my dream, just a little alcohol, he through my dream to the recycle bin like this??

bobskis, it is called freedom. Do you really want the government picking your vehicle?

this is so terrible...
don't drink alcohol when you driving if you don't want like that^^


Buzz News

There should be something done to stop driving after drinking.

Some people shouldn't be allowed to own cars like that especially if they have been drinking.

Wow. Some people don't deserve to drive those awesome cars if they're going to drive recklessly and endanger others on the road. Seriously, A drunk guy in a ferrari could do A LOT more damage [to others] than a drunk guy in a regular car.

The drivers of such cars have to realise that they have a deathly weapon and have to be careful not only themselves but people around them.

All the indgredients...
Fast cars...check
Alcohol...check
Dumb drivers...check

sigh....

It is unfortunate with the amount of racetracks around these days, that street racing still exists.
With movies like Fast and The Furious out, young males, see women and money going along with amped up cars.
You keep the money and the girls, I'll keep my life.

this is interesting... thank you for your comments

Thats pretty nasty!


Pc Freeware

It's always the other guy that gets killed right? How many people in their lives have known someone killed in an alcohol related accident? But it doesn't seem to make any difference, people just keep doing it and the news just keeps reporting it? So what is the real solution? Rich people drink, poor people drink, alcohol has a way of impairing the judgment of all socioeconomic classes.

Aside from the German autobahn, almost every road in the world (including Italian autostrada) has a speed limit no higher than 120 kph or 75 mph. So why do we continue to build, import and license vehicles specifically designed to go more than twice the legal limits? Law school

Street racing is just so dangerous, people should know better by now. I can recall a horrible fatality near my in-laws due to same kind of dangerous racing. To lose a life this way is just a total waste!

I wish people don't drink and drive, follow safe rules.

I have never seen something like that, there is nothing left of the car, this makes me think twice about driving fast.

So wait - who died and who was the woman?

Who in there right mind has enough money to crash and burn these cars!?

 



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