(119 views)Bridegroom crashes £250,000 Lamborghini on way to church
A bridegroom crashed a £250,000 Lamborghini his bride had hired as a treat for him to drive to the church.
Abi Pattison-Hart, 27, paid £8,000 to hire David Gallucci, 33, a Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 for their big day.
But he lost control of the 220mph yellow supercar on a roundabout just one hour before the ceremony.
The Lamborghini hit the grass verge before smashing into a fence and flipping 360 degrees through the air.
But Mr Gallucci walked away from the wreckage with nothing more than bruising.
He waited until after he had exchanged vows to break the news to his bride.
The limited edition Lamborghini - one of just a few hundred in the world - sustained £160,000 of damage and was written off.
Company director Mr Gallucci, who lives with his wife in Baildon, Yorks., said: ''When the car rolled up my drive I was in a state of sheer shock.
''Neighbours were coming out in awe of the thing - it is so rare you'd be lucky to even see one in Britain.
''I was in tears down the phone to Abi, thanking her for the gift. My dream has always been to own a sports car but this is in a different league.
''I was driving it to the wedding when the back end skipped out while I was going around the roundabout.
''The car mounted the grass verge, hit the fence and flipped a full 360 degrees. The next thing I knew I was in a ditch.''
The crash happened on November 7 as Mr Gallucci and best man Warwick French made the 15-minute drive to the wedding at Hollins Hall Country Club, near Bradford, Yorks.
The force of the crash ripped the Murciélago's front bumper off and caused £160,000 of damage to the bodywork, suspension and wheels.
After waiting for police to arrive Mr Gallucci phoned Abi claiming he had broken down and got a friend to pick him up and take him to the wedding in his Range Rover.
He said: ''The police were sympathetic and after having a chuckle about the situation allowed me to leave the scene while they towed the car away.
''I was panicking about how I was going to explain what happened to Abi. I phoned her and said the engine management light had come on and the car had broken down.
''She was furious, not believing that could happen after all the hassle she'd gone through to get me the car.''
Mrs Gallucci originally booked a Lamborghini Gallardo for their big weekend over a year ago, but weeks before the wedding the specialist car hire firm said the vehicle was double-booked.
The only other car they had available was the Murciélago LP640 at a cost of £8,000, of which £5,000 was a deposit to cover the insurance excess, which the couple have now lost.
Coffee shop owner Mrs Gallucci said: ''I was mortified because I'd spent months arranging his present. But in the end I had to see the funny side."
The Lamborghini Murciélago LP640, released in 2006, boasts a 630bhp V12 engine, which can reach 220mph and go from 0 to 60mph in four seconds.