A shocking three-car crash in California on Friday left one person dead, three others injured, and a Ferrari split in half.
Footage showed the aftermath of the car crash, with the red sports car smashed and almost unrecognizable.
Robert Nicoletti, 71, a retired dental salesman, was the owner of the Ferrari. The Orange County native was killed in the fatal crash after his car crashed into a blue Mazda and a silver Toyota SUV. The two drivers of the other vehicles suffered minor injuries.
Nicoletti was pronounced dead at the scene. One person got airlifted to a hospital, while two others, in serious condition, were transported by ambulance.
Local authorities said they do not think anyone was intoxicated, but high speed contributed to the accident as Nicoletti had accelerated his Ferrari to prevent a Tesla from overtaking him. He could not control the sports car, which was going at a very high-speed rate when it got to the curvature in the road.
The accident occurred in Santiago Canyon, near Silverado, a town in Orange County’s Santa Ana Mountains.
California Highway Patrol’s Public Information Officer, Anselmo Templado, confirmed that Nicoletti sustained fatal injuries in the accident. The sheer force of impact when the car crashed into the other one led to his ejection from the vehicle and subsequent fatal injuries.
The California Highway Patrol got a 911 call about the accident at around 3:40 pm. The responding officers said they found the devastating scene, with mangled and smashed cars and the Ferrari literally cut into two parts.
Officers from the Fire Department were pictured on the scene with debris scattered all over the road.
The Toyota and the Mazda were also damaged, with the most impact on the driver’s side. The Tesla that Nicoletti was trying to prevent from overtaking him did not stop at the accident scene.
Orange County authorities had installed electronic speed readers on the 55 mph road earlier this year, showing the speed of cars, following a spike in deadly accidents.
According to the Orange County Register, the eleven-mile road experienced six fatal motorcycle accidents in the summer of 2016.
After the deceased man was identified, family and friends paid tribute to him and remembered him as a wonderful father, friend and grandfather.