Had those cars not been there, the McLaren could’ve landed in the ocean.
A McLaren 650S Spider got perpendicular on the Pacific Coast Highway leaving the Malibu Autobahn Cars & Coffee meetup on April 7. Somebody picked the wrong time to try to show off, and the motorcycle cop in the audience was probably the least appreciative of all.
We’ve all seen our share of dramatic cars and coffee departures that don’t quite go as the driver in question planned. They often involve Mopars obliterating their shipping-wrapped splitters on high curbs outside Denny’s parking lots. But every so often, someone behind the wheel of a car with a price that woefully exceeds their driving ability loses it, in front of one of the most beautiful backdrops in the country.
That’s exactly what we have here. In the video above, we can see the driver flooring it as they blast down the road, losing the back end against the curb and divider before striking a parked Infiniti Q50, Honda Accord, and Civic on the other side of the road.
Thankfully, it seems as though nobody was hurt in the incident. The McLaren driver and its passenger get out of the convertible afterward, and no airbags appear to have popped. The parked cars were seemingly vacant at the time they were hit, and although their owners may be understandably frustrated, it’s a fortunate thing those cars were there. There isn’t a guardrail along that part of the coastline.
One individual heard speaking in this second video courtesy of Shacked on YouTube says that the driver briefly stopped after the accident because their door was stuck open, before “booking it” down the road.
This stretch of the PCH that passes through Malibu and Pacific Palisades, California, where this crash occurred, is known to be particularly dangerous. A Los Angeles Times op-ed notes that it has a habit of attracting speeders, resulting in fatal consequences when cars inevitably collide. But as the highway winds between mountains and the shore, there’s little room for potentially helpful measures like barriers, sidewalks, and bike lanes. Unfortunately, when you’re dealing with someone more concerned with showing off than not hurting themselves or anyone else, even steps like those are unlikely to make a positive difference.
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