Valet Parker Wrecks $450,000 Ferrari After Mistaking Accelerator for Brake

A parking attendant in Italy wrecked a $450,000 Ferrari while delivering it back to its owners a few blocks away, crashing the supercar into a storefront in Rome after accidentally pressing the accelerator instead of the brake.

Roberto Cinti was driving the Ferrari 599 GTO, one of the most powerful vehicles in the world, from a parking garage to the Hotel Exedra down the road when he lost control, according to local media.

“I was confused — instead of the brake, I pressed down on the accelerator,” Cinti told police on the scene, the Telegraph quoted a local newspaper as reporting.

And as he found out, a moment of confusion can cause catastrophic damage when you’re in a car that goes from 0-60 mph in three seconds.

The owners, a Dutch couple who had traveled to a meeting of Ferrari enthusiasts in Anzio, south of Rome, have not been identified or publicly reacted to the incident.

The valet, meanwhile, received treatment for minor injuries in a hospital and was — understandably — in a state of shock.

See the Evolution of the Ferrari in 10 Photos

1947: After two decades of manufacturing only race cars, Ferrari debuted its first road car, the 125 S.

Giampiero Sposito—Reuters

1953: The 375 Mille Miglia Spyder - Chassis was first introduced at the Paris Auto Salon.

Rainer W. Schlegelmilch—Getty Images

1957: The 250 GT California was an open top model with versions made for both racing and road driving.

Klemantaski Collection—Getty Images

1962-64: The 250 GTO was the only front-engine model on display at the 1962 pre-season Ferrari press conference.

Mario Suriani—AP

1968: The 365 GTB "Daytona" was first introduced at the Paris Auto Salon.

Klemantaski Collection/Getty Images

1976: The 512 Berlinetta Boxer was a mid-engined road car that Enzo Ferrari initially worried would be too difficult for his customers to handle.

dpa/AP

1988: The 288 GTO was named for the car's 2.8 liter V8 engine.

Ron Perry—Transtock/Corbis

1998: The F355 was designed to perform at a high level in various kinds of driving environments.

Car Culture/Corbis

2002: The Enzo, named for Ferrari's founder, was built using formula-one technology.

Rainer W. Schlegelmilch—Getty Images

2015: The 488 GTB can accelerate from 0 to 124 miles per hour in 8.3 seconds.

Ferrari

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Write to Rishi Iyengar at rishi.iyengar@timeasia.com.