The Dirty Diaper and The $1.5 Million Dent
Newport, KY
The Ferrari.
Insanely fast. Absurdly expensive. And - in the path of a 10-year-old boy - utterly defenseless.
Just ask Arthur James Ibold.
The Cincinnati man’s million-dollar-plus, mint-condition 1971 Ferrari, with all its vaunted Italian-made power, proved virtually powerless against the destructive force of a fourth-grader in Newport Monday, police said.
The problem began about 5:15 p.m. when the boy - whose mother asked that he remain anonymous - was doing what 10-year-olds do best: running mindlessly through the neighborhood.
To be fair, this particular boy had a pretty good reason to run. He was being chased by another boy, who on that afternoon happened to be armed with a very dirty diaper he had just “found.” In other words, it was a life-and-death pursuit.
The 10-year-old might have gotten away had it not been for that bright orange Ferrari, parked at the corner of East Ninth and Washington streets. That, according to the police report, stopped the youngster when he apparently ran headlong into the machine.
The boy “slid across the hood … causing the hood to scratch and crease. The crease was approximately 18 inches in length,” wrote Newport Police Officer Todd Suszek
“The vehicle is a classic vehicle that is in excellent to mint condition. The vehicle is all original. Listed suspect admitted to this officer that he did it.”
The officer’s words suggest that even the objective eyes of the law got a little misty at the sight of the pricey Ferrari’s new flaw. Whether Ibold was shedding any tears at this point is unclear - he did not return calls for comment.
But the boy’s mom said she was soon crying, as was her son, even before he learned that he had been charged with first-degree criminal mischief Wednesday.
The boy’s mother, who is currently unemployed, is stumped as to how she will pay for the damage, no matter how small. She said she has not heard anything further from Ibold or the police.
Be sure to read the whole story in the Kentucky Post
Thanks Luann!
June 1st, 2007 at 5:53 am
maybe the mom can make the other parents help, since their kid started the crap
June 1st, 2007 at 8:19 am
Who the hell parks a Ferrari on the street?
June 1st, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Mom’s not going to have to pay a dime. I’d like to see Mr. Ferrari sue the boy.
And, if you’re going to drive around in a million dollar vehicle, aren’t you sort of subjecting everyone else to a certain excessive risk? Accidents will happen, but by driving around in this, the penalty for such mistakes is inequitable. If he did the same to a 1980 Honda Accord, it might cost nothing. But because a kid does the exact same thing, the exact same ‘crime’, it’s going to cost 10’s of thousands? Nope. Sorry.
June 1st, 2007 at 1:43 pm
If someone were to chase me with a “LOADED” weapon I think i’d run too, but not head on into a Ferrari. Anyone should be able to park anywhere (provided it’s a legit parking space) without someone coming along and scratching and denting their vehicle, and if they did–it cost $50 to file charges and go to small claims court.
The one time I parked my GT at the end of my driveway some lil sob hit it with a football, caused $380 damage to the hood and ran away. I had enough time to park, get out of the car, run into my house to grab some money for gas, and that’s how fast it happened.
June 1st, 2007 at 5:14 pm
Accidents happen, especially around 10-year old boys. That’s what insurance is for. Anybody who parks a million dollar plus Ferrari on a street where children play can pretty much expect one to happen sooner or later. BTW, Ritch, legally mom IS responsible for junior’s actions, but due to the extenuating circumstances I don’t think she’ll ever have to pay.
June 2nd, 2007 at 9:24 pm
thats so sad–about the car getting scratched and creased i meant.