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Bugatti Veyron Insurance-Fraud Case Goes to Trial

The case of a Texas man accused of crashing the supercar to collect on a $2.2 million insurance policy will hinge on a YouTube video.

By Claire_Martin Oct 4, 2012 9:05AM
Bugatti Veyron crashing into lake (still snipped from YouTube)The 2009 YouTube video that caught a man crashing his $1 million 2006 Bugatti Veyron into a roadside lagoon in Texas went viral, notching almost 4 million views, and is now at the center of an impending insurance-fraud trial. In the video (which appears after the jump and contains a bit of language some may find offensive), the Veyron, one of the world's fastest production cars, can be seen veering into the water.


An insurance company filed suit against the Veyron's owner, Andy House, claiming he had swerved intentionally in order to collect on a $2.2 million insurance policy he had purchased three weeks earlier. House reportedly told police he dropped his phone while behind the wheel on a highway in Galveston, Texas. 

"[House] jerked the wheel, dropped his cellphone, and the car’s front tire left the frontage road and entered a muddy patch, which foiled his attempt to maneuver away from the lagoon," according a report by Chris Paschenko of The Galveston Daily News. When he looked up, he reportedly saw a pelican and veered into the lagoon.

The case now hinges on the pelican, which lawyers for the insurance company say does not make an appearance in the video and hence cannot have caused the accident. They also claim House made no effort to brake to avoid plunging into the water.

House, meanwhile, has filed a countersuit to recoup $2.2 million in damage to the rare car -- of which a total of 300 have been sold. Ever. 

Before the Veyron's engine conked out for good, it did not go down without a fight, according to Paschenko: "The Veyron's powerful engine gurgled like an outboard motor for about 15 minutes before it died."
 
 


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