Jerry Seinfeld unhurt after his Fiat brakes fail
04-03-08, 09:13 PM
#1
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Jerry Seinfeld unhurt after his Fiat brakes fail
Jerry Seinfeld could have been killed after he realized the brakes on his 1967 Fiat BTM failed and he rolled and flipped to a complete stop.
Jerry Seinfeld escaped an awful and potentially fatal accident without a scratch after he turned his un-stoppable car away from oncoming traffic.
Seinfeld was driving alone when the brakes on his 1967 Fiat BTM stopped working Saturday evening, East Hampton Town Police Chief Todd Sarris told the New York Post. Seinfeld tried the emergency brake, to no avail, and then swerved to keep the car from careening into an intersection, Sarris said.
The two-door sedan flipped over and came to a stop just yards from the highway, Sarris said, adding that the comic’s maneuver "probably avoided a very serious accident."
The wreck was attributed to mechanical failure, and no summonses were issued, Sarris said. Seinfeld, 53, did not require medical attention and returned to his East Hampton home.
The comedian took the crash in stride.
"Because I know there are kids out there, I want to make sure they all know that driving without braking is not something I recommend, unless you have professional clown training or a comedy background, as I do," Seinfeld said. "It is not something I plan to make a habit of."
Jerry Seinfeld escaped an awful and potentially fatal accident without a scratch after he turned his un-stoppable car away from oncoming traffic.
Seinfeld was driving alone when the brakes on his 1967 Fiat BTM stopped working Saturday evening, East Hampton Town Police Chief Todd Sarris told the New York Post. Seinfeld tried the emergency brake, to no avail, and then swerved to keep the car from careening into an intersection, Sarris said.
The two-door sedan flipped over and came to a stop just yards from the highway, Sarris said, adding that the comic’s maneuver "probably avoided a very serious accident."
The wreck was attributed to mechanical failure, and no summonses were issued, Sarris said. Seinfeld, 53, did not require medical attention and returned to his East Hampton home.
The comedian took the crash in stride.
"Because I know there are kids out there, I want to make sure they all know that driving without braking is not something I recommend, unless you have professional clown training or a comedy background, as I do," Seinfeld said. "It is not something I plan to make a habit of."
04-04-08, 05:02 AM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
I couldn't find any on google.
I grew up with 60's and early 70's vintage cars. NOTHING surprises me on those old Fiats. You could expect just about any kind of failure, anytime......even when the cars were fairly new, much less today. Fiat did not leave the American market for nothing.....their terrible reputation forced them out.
04-04-08, 07:24 AM
#5
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
Some more info:
Police: Jerry Seinfeld's handling of accident "heroic"
BY MITCHELL FREEDMAN
mitchell.freedman@newsday.com
7:55 PM EDT, April 3, 2008
"Bizzaro" Jerry? Police are calling him "Hero" Jerry.
East Hampton's police chief Thursday praised comedian Jerry Seinfeld for avoiding a potential collision by managing to stop his 1967 Fiat when the brakes failed.
Thanks to Seinfeld's quick response, police said, the car flipped over Saturday night before it could shoot out of a side street and plow across busy Montauk Highway.
"He avoided a catastrophic event," Chief Todd Sarris said, calling Seinfeld a hero. "I can't imagine the damage had that vehicle gone into the intersection."
Seinfeld, 53, who was being followed by someone -- possibly his publicist -- as he was taking a test drive in his new car, was on Skinhampton Road approaching Montauk Highway when he realized the brakes were not working, police said.
Seinfeld immediately downshifted, pulled up the parking brake, and twisted the wheel sharply to the right, Sarris said. The car went into a skid, flipping over at least once and ended up on its side.
The comedian was wearing both a lap belt and chest restraint, and did not appear to be injured. A passerby who made the 911 call reporting the accident said that she saw the car and saw the driver -- whom she did not recognize -- walking around at the scene.
By the time her call to police ended, some people had flipped the small Fiat with California plates back onto its wheels, and Seinfeld was driven back to his home about 2 miles away in another car.
Sarris said Seinfeld's publicist was at the scene of the accident, and immediately called the comedian back after police asked to speak to him.
The first police officer arrived at the scene around 7:45 p.m. The police chief said neither officer who questioned Seinfeld saw any sign that he had been drinking, and said he answered all their questions fully. Based on a lack of skid marks and other evidence, he concluded that the comedian was not driving over the 30 mph speed limit.
Sarris said that because there was no property damage to anything but Seinfeld's own car, there was no reason to do a full accident reconstruction, and that Seinfeld would not be charged with leaving the scene of an accident.
After spending two days being deluged with calls from various media, Sarris added, he understood why a celebrity might not want to hang around.
After the accident, Seinfeld's car was towed to a local service station. Police said it was later towed to a second location, possibly Seinfeld's East Hampton home.
It turns out Seinfeld has some official driving experience. He took a three-day advanced driving course in 1994 at the Skip Barber Racing and Driving School, then located at the racetrack north of San Francisco, company officials said.
The comedian graduated, said Rick Roso, a spokesman and instructor at the school's Lakeville, Conn., branch, but Seinfeld had a minor accident with one of the school's race cars later that year when he returned to do some more driving with friends who were taking the course.
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment...,7163370.story
Police: Jerry Seinfeld's handling of accident "heroic"
BY MITCHELL FREEDMAN
mitchell.freedman@newsday.com
7:55 PM EDT, April 3, 2008
"Bizzaro" Jerry? Police are calling him "Hero" Jerry.
East Hampton's police chief Thursday praised comedian Jerry Seinfeld for avoiding a potential collision by managing to stop his 1967 Fiat when the brakes failed.
Thanks to Seinfeld's quick response, police said, the car flipped over Saturday night before it could shoot out of a side street and plow across busy Montauk Highway.
"He avoided a catastrophic event," Chief Todd Sarris said, calling Seinfeld a hero. "I can't imagine the damage had that vehicle gone into the intersection."
Seinfeld, 53, who was being followed by someone -- possibly his publicist -- as he was taking a test drive in his new car, was on Skinhampton Road approaching Montauk Highway when he realized the brakes were not working, police said.
Seinfeld immediately downshifted, pulled up the parking brake, and twisted the wheel sharply to the right, Sarris said. The car went into a skid, flipping over at least once and ended up on its side.
The comedian was wearing both a lap belt and chest restraint, and did not appear to be injured. A passerby who made the 911 call reporting the accident said that she saw the car and saw the driver -- whom she did not recognize -- walking around at the scene.
By the time her call to police ended, some people had flipped the small Fiat with California plates back onto its wheels, and Seinfeld was driven back to his home about 2 miles away in another car.
Sarris said Seinfeld's publicist was at the scene of the accident, and immediately called the comedian back after police asked to speak to him.
The first police officer arrived at the scene around 7:45 p.m. The police chief said neither officer who questioned Seinfeld saw any sign that he had been drinking, and said he answered all their questions fully. Based on a lack of skid marks and other evidence, he concluded that the comedian was not driving over the 30 mph speed limit.
Sarris said that because there was no property damage to anything but Seinfeld's own car, there was no reason to do a full accident reconstruction, and that Seinfeld would not be charged with leaving the scene of an accident.
After spending two days being deluged with calls from various media, Sarris added, he understood why a celebrity might not want to hang around.
After the accident, Seinfeld's car was towed to a local service station. Police said it was later towed to a second location, possibly Seinfeld's East Hampton home.
It turns out Seinfeld has some official driving experience. He took a three-day advanced driving course in 1994 at the Skip Barber Racing and Driving School, then located at the racetrack north of San Francisco, company officials said.
The comedian graduated, said Rick Roso, a spokesman and instructor at the school's Lakeville, Conn., branch, but Seinfeld had a minor accident with one of the school's race cars later that year when he returned to do some more driving with friends who were taking the course.
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment...,7163370.story
04-04-08, 07:52 PM
#7
Lexus Fanatic
=bitkahuna;3418617]
Seinfeld immediately downshifted, pulled up the parking brake, and twisted the wheel sharply to the right, Sarris said. The car went into a skid, flipping over at least once and ended up on its side.
Seinfeld immediately downshifted, pulled up the parking brake, and twisted the wheel sharply to the right, Sarris said. The car went into a skid, flipping over at least once and ended up on its side.
Whether he needed to swerve or not, of course, depends on what was in front of him.....we obviously can't determine that here.
The first police officer arrived at the scene around 7:45 p.m. The police chief said neither officer who questioned Seinfeld saw any sign that he had been drinking, and said he answered all their questions fully. Based on a lack of skid marks and other evidence, he concluded that the comedian was not driving over the 30 mph speed limit.
Were the police THEMSELVES drinking? Of COURSE there were no skid marks.
The main brakes failed, and the emergency brake cable usually doesn't apply the two rear brakes with enough force to lock them up and cause skid marks, although, in some cases, a severe and abrupt downshift with a clutch can momentary break traction on the drive wheels and cause a minor skid mark....it can also cause clutch damage.It also needs to be noted that this car was a 1967 model. Dual-split brake master cylinders, by law, did not become standard on U.S. market cars until 1968....with seat belts, padded dashes, standarized transmission shift quadrants, and a number of other safety features. The dual master cylinders vastly decreased the chance of total brake failure by splitting the master cylinder into two halves.....each working one front and one rear brake to preserve linear vehicle brake action if one side of the master cylinder failed.
Last edited by mmarshall; 04-04-08 at 07:58 PM.
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