Perth – Ferrari 360 Spider crash DUI

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Ferrari gets Pole Position without Schumacher

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Crunch time for $300,000 Ferrari

The nephew of fashion designer Carla Zampatti has been charged with driving three times over the legal alcohol limit after his $300,000 Ferrari slammed into a traffic light in Perth on Sunday night.

The Ferrari 360 Spider was purchased by Colin Zampatti just last month, and collided with the traffic pole about 8pm outside the Windsor Hotel in south Perth.

Many onlookers at the pub, on the intersection of Mill Point Road and Mends Street, started taking photos of the car after the incident and the images have been circulated around the world.

A West Australian police spokesman said Zampatti, who celebrated his 42nd birthday the day after the crash, has been charged with driving under the influence and is due to appear at Perth Magistrates Court on January 23.

The blood alcohol level Zampatti returned in a breath test was not clear, although he had to have blown at least 0.15 – three times over the limit – to be charged with that offence.

Internet bloggers are divided on what happened just before the crash; some say the Ferrari driver was giving hotel bouncers the finger, while others reckon he had been revving the engine at the traffic lights and waving to a cheering crowd before flooring the vehicle and losing control.

One blogger, claiming to be a Windsor employee, writes that the driver tried to run from the scene and that he chased him down.

“Out the back carpark of the pub the culprit is dashing through parked cars (at a medium/drunk f— pace) so it wasn’t long before my manager and I were in close range of our target,” ‘Antiloop’ writes on the Australian chat forum Teknoscape.

“Little does he (my manager) realise there is a chain fence blocking off a certain section of the carpark and mid-chase he is unfortunate enough to trip straight over and receive a face full of bitumen.

“Like the nimble gazelle I am, I glide over the fence trying not to smirk at my boss’s misfortune and resume the hunt.

“As I regain my composure and lock back on to this Ferrari fucker 10 metres ahead of me I see the cunt trip, slip and fall to the ground over a second chain fence just before the end of the car park. What luck!

“Just before he jumps back to his feet I catch up, side swipe his legs with the old ‘take that wifey’ backhand and he crumbles back to the ground once more.

“A few swear words later my felled manager and one of the bouncers brought themselves up to pace and grabbed him by the sleeves, carting him back to the accident.”

A Windsor Hotel receptionist said she was aware of the blog entry but could not be sure that it was written by an employee. She also said bouncers would not be commenting on the matter.

A large number of people witnessed the crash; the hotel was packed and a long queue of people were waiting to enter the opening night of John Michael Swinbank’s cabaret tribute to Noel Coward at the nearby Old Mill Theatre.

It is understood the insurance policy on the car becomes void if the driver is found to be guilty of drink-driving. Also, the driver would have to pay for damages to the traffic light.

The front end of the Ferrari severely crumpled inwards because the engines on these cars are in the boot.

The used car was advertised in October for sale on drive.com.au with a $299,990 price tag, not including government charges.

A salesman at the company which advertised the car confirmed Zampatti had bought it in November.

Ms Zampatti was unaware of her nephew’s charge when contacted by smh.com.au, and did not want to comment.

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