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Slight hitch as bridegroom prangs Lamborghini on way to wedding
WEDDING days are often full of surprises, and bridegroom David Gallucci was astonished when a £250,000 sports car turned up on his driveway for him to drive to the ceremony.
But bride Abi Pattison-Hart, who paid 8,000 to hire him the Lamborghini for the day, got an even bigger shock after Mr Gallucci was forced to admit he had crashed it on his way to the venue.
The blushing bridegroom lost control of the 220mph yellow supercar on a roundabout an hour before the ceremony and only broke the news to his new wife after they had exchanged vows.
Mr Gallucci, 33, and best man Warwick French, 35, had just filled the car with petrol and begun the 15-minute drive to the event in Baildon, near Bradford, when the accident happened.
The car, a limited edition Lamborghini Murcilago LP640, took off as it hit a grass verge before smashing into a fence and flipping 360 degrees through the air.
Fortunately, it landed on its wheels and the pair were able to walk away from the wreckage with only bruised bodies and bruised egos.
Mr Gallucci, a company director who lives with his wife in Baildon, 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."
Mr French said: "We'd barely got the seats warm before we were climbing out of the window."
The force of the crash ripped the bumper off the car and caused damage to the bodywork, suspension and wheels to the tune of 160,000. The car was written off and, after calling the police and ringing his wife-to-be to tell her he had "broken down", Mr Gallucci was forced to travel to the ceremony in a friend's Range Rover.
"The police were sympathetic and, after having a chuckle about the situation, allowed me to leave the scene while they towed the car away," he said.
"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."
Last year Ms Pattison-Hart, 27, arranged for a Lamborghini Gallardo to be delivered on the big day, but the car hire firm contacted her weeks before the wedding to say the vehicle was double-booked.
The Murcilago LP640 was the only other car the firm had available, and it cost 8,000 to hire, of which 5,000 was a deposit to cover the insurance excess.
Ms Pattison-Hart, a coffee shop owner, said: "I was mortified because I'd spent months arranging his present, but in the end I had to see the funny side.
"All the wedding guests were joking about what happened as the irony is David is the safest driver I know.
"I get trouble frrom him if I get the slightest scratch on an alloy. It cost us 8,000 to hire the car for one hour but thank God I
paid the excess insurance – otherwise we'd have had to sell the house."
Despite Mr Gallucci's expensive mishap, the wedding went ahead as planned at four star Hollins Hall.
A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police confirmed officers were called to the crash on November 7 but added that an ambulance was not required.
The car hire firm refused to comment on the incident.
'A drive you'll never forget'
The Lamborghini Murcilago LP640 driven – and written off – by Mr Gallucci was one of only a few hundred in the world.
Released in 2006, the car boasts a 630bhp V12 engine, can reach 220mph and go from 0 to 60mph in four seconds.
The six-speed LP640 features several performance modifications to the standard Murcilago model, including a revised suspension, launch control and an all-wheel drive system.
Doncaster-born Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson described the
car as "astonishing" after taking it for a test drive in 2007. In a review he wrote: "The power and the noise that goes with it mean you are never likely to forget even the shortest drive."
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Wednesday 08 February 2012
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