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An 18-year-old boy from Long Island, N.Y. died this weekend when he took his dream car -- a Lamborghini -- out for a test run and crashed it into a guardrail. Samuel Shepard, who had recently graduated high school and had been accepted as an Army Ranger, jumped at the opportunity to get behind the wheel of his family friend's expensive luxury car. But he reportedly lost control of the Lamborghini, likely because he was going too fast, according to police.
The car's owner, Michael Power, 49, was a passenger in the car when he agreed to let the teen take his sports car for a spontaneous ride. When the car crashed as they were making their way back to a parking lot, Power suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Shepard was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The teen's grieving dad, who owns an autobody shop, said he was not aware that his son was driving the Lamborghini and that his son had his entire life mapped out. After serving in the Army for a few years he hoped to become a police officer.
A police detective who said he suspects excessive speed was a factor in the crash also said he believed driving the car was a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" for Shepard.
I don't think anyone is truly to blame in this case. The owner of the car gave a teen with a valid driver's license his permission to drive his car, but also had the head to accompany him. We don't have enough details yet to say for sure how fast Shepard was traveling or what happened. It's totally possible his unfamiliarity with the vehicle didn't help matters when he lost control of it.
Regardless, a family is mourning the loss of a young man who seemed like he had his life figured out at such a young age.
Do you think it was okay to let the teen test drive an infamously fast car?
Image via Axion23/Flickr
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