Ferrari

10.05.2006 FERRARI ENZO CRASH DRIVER STEFAN ERIKSSON IS CHARGED WITH A HIT-AND-RUN

The former European video game executive accused of stealing a rare Ferrari Enzo that he crashed in Malibu has now been charged with hit and run after he allegedly crashed a Porsche Cayenne into a SUV near his Bel-Air home, reports Richard Winton in the LA Times. Los Angeles city prosecutors Monday said they charged Bo Stefan Eriksson with misdemeanour hit and run and driving without a California license and insurance after they traced the Cayenne to him.

Eriksson, 44, allegedly rear-ended a Ford Explorer on Jan. 4 on Sunset Boulevard at Beverly Glen Boulevard, said Jonathan Diamond, a spokesman for the city attorney's office. "Rather than exchanging information, he drove off," Diamond said. The incident occurred more than a month before Eriksson allegedly crashed a red Enzo at 162 mph on Pacific Coast Highway, slamming into a utility pole and slicing the car in half. Diamond said Eriksson did not own the Cayenne, but authorities linked it to him. Diamond would not elaborate. A manual for that Porsche model was seized during a recent search of Eriksson's home, court records show.

Eriksson, a Swedish national, is set to appear in court today on the three new charges, which were filed Friday. David Elden, one of Eriksson's attorneys, said the hit-and-run accusations were minor compared to the charges filed by the district attorney's office in connection with the Enzo and other exotic cars. Eriksson faces up to 14 years in state prison if convicted of seven felony counts of embezzlement, grand theft auto and possession of a firearm by a felon and two misdemeanour counts of driving under the influence.
 
STEFAN ERIKSSON FERRARI ENZO

Stefan Eriksson allegedly crashed a red Enzo at 162 mph on Pacific Coast Highway, slamming into a utility pole and slicing the car in half. Here he is seen by an ambulance after the incident. Photo: Hans Laetz/Malibu Times.
FERRARI ENZO CRASH

The engine and transmission of the crashed Ferrari Enzo in the wake of the February incident - now the former European video game executive accused of stealing a rare Ferrari Enzo that he crashed in Malibu has now been charged with hit and run after he allegedly crashed a Porsche Cayenne into a SUV near his Bel-Air home. Photo: Hans Laetz/Malibu Times.


He is accused of trying to defraud three British banks by importing three luxury vehicles — the red Enzo, a black Enzo and a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren — into the United States without the banks' knowledge. Deputy Dist. Atty. Tamara Hall said Eriksson tried to conceal the importation by using different Swedish passport numbers on customs forms and bank documents. Eriksson has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His attorneys insist that he did not steal the cars and was negotiating a financial settlement with the banks before his arrest last month. He is being held in lieu of $3-million bail pending trial. Moments after the Enzo crash Feb. 21, Eriksson told deputies that a German named Dietrich was behind the wheel. But an investigator said that Eriksson later admitted he was driving.

During a hearing Monday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charles Palmer refused to lift a freeze on Eriksson's assets, including his $6-million home and a bank account. Prosecutors had the assets frozen to pay restitution if Eriksson is convicted. The judge did allow Eriksson to continue his mortgage payments.

 Report courtesy of the LA Times
 
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27.04.2006

Detectives are trying to work out why a gun belonging to a Sheriff's Department deputy was found at the mansion of Stefan Eriksson who is accused of crashing a Ferrari Enzo in February, reports the LA Times

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