Man 'distracted by pelican' drives Bugatti into lagoon

The owner of one of the world’s fastest production automobiles accidentally drove his fine-tuned car into a saltwater lagoon on Wednesday.

The man, who police said was from Lufkin, was uninjured after escaping the partially submerged Bugatti Veyron as it came to rest in about 2 feet of saltwater.

Many thanks for the video, Engineer! And not a pelican in sight! Contains some NSFW language.


The two-seater, with 16 cylinders and four turbo chargers, can reach speeds of more than 250 mph. New models sell for about $2 million. The man, who refused to give his name, was looking at real estate in Galveston.

At about 3 p.m. a low-flying pelican distracted him as he travelled north on Interstate 45 just south of the hurricane levee near Omega Bay.



The man jerked the wheel, dropped his cell phone, and the car’s front tyre left the frontage road and entered a muddy patch, which foiled his attempt to manoeuvre away from the lagoon.

The Veyron’s powerful engine gurgled like an outboard motor for about 15 minutes before it died. Police and firefighters blocked the frontage road until MCH Towing employee Gilbert Harrison carefully winched the car away from riprap and onto the soft, muddy bank.