Luxury Car Wreck in Japan Causes Millions in Damage

Could this be the most expensive pile-up ever?

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Reuters/Kyodo

Police officers investigate wrecked luxury cars at the site of a traffic accident on the Chugoku Expressway in Shimonoseki, southwestern Japan in this December 4, 2011 photo taken by Kyodo

There are fender-benders, there are car crashes, and then there’s what took place in Japan on Sunday.

No fewer than eight Ferraris, three Mercedes and a Lamborghini, thought to be worth a combined total of around 300 million yen ($3.85 million) were involved in a major crash on the Chugoku expressway in Shimonoseki, Japan.

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In total, 14 vehicles were involved and police in Yamaguchi prefecture said 10 people were treated for bruises and cuts. Incredibly, nobody was seriously injured, but the road was closed for six hours after the accident.

How did it happen? The so-called supercars were being driven in convoy to Hiroshima by a group of automobile enthusiasts, reported the Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun. According to the police, they believe a driver of one of the Ferraris tried to change lanes and ended up hitting the crash barrier. The police wouldn’t comment on the total amount of damage, but did confirm that some of the vehicles were beyond repair.

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“I’ve never seen such a thing,” highway patrol lieutenant Eiichiro Kamitani told the AFP. “Ferraris rarely travel in such large numbers.” The speed limit on that stretch of road is 80 kilometers per hour, (50mph) and it’s thought that some of the vehicles were considerably in excess of that number. While the authorities continue to piece together the details, rest assured that the insurance companies are probably expecting some rather interesting claims. (via Guardian)

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