Accident on L.I.E. East Bound Exit 51

Is it in fact a 355? I can't see to well in that news clip but looks more like a 308. Either way, definitely a tragedy.

 

Thanks for coming to the New York thread and sharing your thoughts of my driving, and yes I drive my car hard, your probably bought a Ferrari to sit in your air condition garage and be driven 40-50 mph, if you have a problem with my driving come say it to my face, I ain't going through with this **** again with you people...

 

Good spot, I'm pretty sure you're right. It does seem more like a 308 to me.

 

It was a 355 spider for a fact, i saw it intact just an hour before this

 

There are ways to have fun in your car without driving 160 mph on public roads. I'm sure a lot of people who own exotics have a lot of fun at half the speeds you have driven. You can drive your car hard on the track too. Just a thought.

 

Noah this **** is not about me or the way i drive, i just hate people who bring up the past, we have been over this months ago.

 

Yeah, let's drop it guys. We don't want another one of "those" threads.

 

ok.

 

That accident is very sad. My condolences to the family of the driver. Stay safe out there guys!!!!

 

Yup, 308 or 328 as per that video. Can not tell which model from the helicopter shot.

 

From Newsday this morning, 1989, which does make it a 328...sad to hear

Father's Day was one of Neil Battinelli's favorite days of the year, so yesterday his daughters hoped to make it special.

After taking his flying lessons in the morning, Battinelli was to be the guest of honor at a barbecue, at which they hoped to present a collection of memories and photographs the youngest of his three children had put together.

But as Battinelli, 64, of Oyster Bay, was on his way to the airport just after 9 a.m., he lost control of his 1989 Ferrari on the Long Island Expressway in Dix Hills.

Suffolk police said he crashed through a grassy section between the expressway and the service road and was ejected from his car, which then caught fire. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

 

June 18, 2007

Father's Day was one of Neil Battinelli's favorite days of the year, so yesterday his daughters hoped to make it special.

After taking his flying lessons in the morning, Battinelli was to be the guest of honor at a barbecue, at which they hoped to present a collection of memories and photographs the youngest of his three children had put together.

But as Battinelli, 64, of Oyster Bay, was on his way to the airport just after 9 a.m., he lost control of his 1989 Ferrari on the Long Island Expressway in Dix Hills.

Suffolk police said he crashed through a grassy section between the expressway and the service road and was ejected from his car, which then caught fire. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Dix Hills firefighters received a call about another serious accident on the expressway. At the South Service Road around Exit 51, they came across Battinelli's Ferrari ablaze. Battinelli lay nearby, but it was too late to save him.

Det. Sgt. Bruce Markgraf said Battinelli had been traveling at a "very high rate of speed," in excess of 120 mph, in the left lane of the expressway when he veered right, went over the grassy section, struck a light pole, flipped over and was ejected from his vehicle. Police said they were investigating whether he had been wearing a seatbelt.

Police are also investigating whether Battinelli might have been experiencing mechanical problems.

Markgraf said Battinelli had been seen looking under the hood of his car on the shoulder of the expressway in Nassau before the accident. His car was impounded for a safety check.

Battinelli, a cardiologist with his own practice in Garden City, had a distinguished medical career, friends and relatives said. When Avianca Flight 52 from Colombia crashed in Cove Neck in 1990, he coordinated the triage of the dozens of injured patients, his family said. He had also worked as a surgeon for both the Garden City fire and police departments.

"We, too, are grieving for his family," Lt. Peter Clancy of the fire department said.

 

Very sad to hear - R.I.P.

Rene,
Good to hear from you on Fchat once again!

 

Very sad. I was out driving in the Mondi with two of my sons yesterday. We were all wearing our seat belts. I wonder if this guy was. I read he was ejected.

 

So wait... the fire dept was enroute to an accident scene and coincidentally ran into Battinelli??? That's crazy! So very sad though for his family especially his little girls .

But how do they know he was traveling at a "high rate of speed"? I mean was that the report they got from other motorists? I'm sure he could have been going faster than most others on the expressway but not necessarily doing 120mph.

I don't like it when someone in a sports car has an accident and people 'assume' that person was speeding. It could have something as simple as a blowout that caused his crash. It's a Ferrari that's designed for high speed so I'm sure it'll hold the road at 120mph (if he was really going that fast) better than most other 'normal' cars.

Either way though, it's very sad for his family and close friends especially for his daughters on that particular day .

 

According to my brother right down the road a dumptruck blew a red light going weist on the service road crossing over and slamming into a car killing 2 on Deer Park Avenue... Crazy

 

Damn

 

I'm not sure who gave the speed estimate in this particular accident. But if it was from the police, they usually can calculate the estimate from the debris dispersal. Kind of what they do at airplane crash sites to reconstruct the accident. They take all kinds of distance measurements to figure out where the impact was and how far the parts of the car moved from there. Certainly, a 308/328 can easily do 120 mph so it is possible for that to have occurred here.

Very sad for the family, indeed.

 

Accident investigations are a dime a dozen. Good ones are hard to find and they usually don't get decided overnight. This 64 year old man, a father of three, was a cardiologist and a pilot in training. Anything it this man's bio that would lead you to believe he wasn't methodical? I find it hard to believe he was being wreckless (which a high rate of speed would indicate).

RIP. My thoughts are to his loved ones.

 

#1......Thoughts and prayers are with his family....of all days for it to happen......

 

I don't like it when someone in a sports car has an accident and people 'assume' that person was speeding. It could have something as simple as a blowout that caused his crash. It's a Ferrari that's designed for high speed so I'm sure it'll hold the road at 120mph (if he was really going that fast) better than most other 'normal' cars.



Deal with it ! As long as there are Sports Cars on the road and as long as they have accidents. People will ALWAYS assume its the fault of the Sports Car. It is a fact of life. What sucks is this family lost a father.

 

They probably used the DOT cameras or sensors on the expwy to estimate speed. There are many many cameras on LI's highways. I accidentally walked into the control room in hauppauge recently and was amazed at how high-tech the whole operation is.

I wonder if there was a problem with the car - as was indicated in one of the articles. A stuck throttle would really suck. The seatbelts are a moot point. Would you rather get tossed from a car hitting a lightpost at those speeds or would you rather get burned up inside? Hopefully it was instant - as I suppose it was.

 

The vehicle was a 1989 FERRARI 328 GTB.... And yes he was experiencing a fuel/throttle issue according to a source within the investigation.

There was maintenance performed on the car recently so I am sure that mechanic will be questioned. It also seems that the victim was a kind hearted well mannered driver who was not a "speed demon."

Others stated in interviews that he was one heck of a Doctor!

So my condolences to his family, not an easy one to swallow on father's day.

 

Seth,

Do you think it was an issue with the throttle sticking?

My sincerest condolences to the doctor's family...