Driver ‘misjudged’ power of Ferrari supercar in crash that killed boy, 13
A TEENAGE boy was killed while being taken for a drive in a £1.2million Ferrari supercar when the driver “misjudged its formidable power”, a court heard.
Alexander Worth, 13, died at the scene after Matthew Cobden, a 39-yearold businessman, over-accelerated in the high-performance Ferrari F50 and lost control, causing the vehicle to smash into a wooden post, jurors were told. Neither the driver nor his passenger were wearing seat belts.
Winchester Crown Court heard Mr Cobden might have failed to “properly take into account” that the supercar – capable of reaching 60mph in less than four seconds – was a left-hand drive vehicle. The car, which was said to be “the closest you can get to an F1 car on the road”, hit the post, flipped and turned 270 degrees.
The court heard that Mr Cobden took Alexander for a drive at 8.30pm on Aug 22 2016, at a farm estate where his high-end car storage business is based in North Warnborough, Hants.
Thomas Wilkins, prosecuting, said conditions and visibility were good and the Ferrari was in “working order”.
The crash happened on a narrow track with an advisory speed limit of 10mph. Mr Wilkins said Cobden might have “misjudged” the road as a result of sitting on the left. Alexander, from Kings Worthy, Winchester, was at the estate with his mother Arabella because her partner, Justin Smith, was delivering a battery.
Mr Cobden, of Walton-on-thames, Surrey, who owns the company Toy Stor-age, denies causing death by careless driving.
Mr Wilkins, opening the trial, said: “The prosecution say this was caused by simple driver error, in other words Mr Cobden failed to be a careful and competent driver and that caused Alex’s death. The defendant said afterwards that shortly beforehand he put his foot on the accelerator and it just took off uncontrollably. When interviewed he said ‘I put my foot on the accelerator very gently and it shot and all I can remember is a bang or a thud’.
“His defence is that nothing he did caused the crash but a defect caused it to roar off and he was unable to stop it.”
Mr Wilkins said testing of the vehicle revealed there were “no pre-collision defects which contributed” to the crash.
The trial continues.