A businessman has been jailed for causing the death of a 13-year-old boy he had taken for a ride in a £1.2m supercar.
Matthew Cobden, 39, lost control of the Ferrari F50 while “showing off” to Alexander Worth as he drove on a farm road in Hampshire.
Winchester crown court heard that the vehicle, which has a top speed of almost 200mph, “accelerated uncontrollably” causing it to flip and throw the pair, who were not wearing seatbelts, from the vehicle.
Cobden, of Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, denied causing death by careless driving, saying the car had a mechanical defect, but was convicted by a jury.
Sentencing Cobden to 18 months in prison, the judge, Keith Cutler, said: “You put your foot down in order to cause a thrill for Alexander; you were showing off – that is the explanation for the accident and its consequences. In accelerating such a powerful vehicle, you lost control of it … the surge of power took you by surprise.”
He added: “Nothing that this court can do can bring Alexander back to his mother and father and his family. Nothing that I can do can properly reflect or compensate that loss of his life.”
The accident happened in August 2016 after the Ferrari was unloaded at a car storage business run by the defendant.
Justin Smith, who supplied car batteries to Cobden, had taken his partner, Arabella Worth, and her son, Alexander, with him when he visited the premises to make a delivery. Cobden offered to take Alexander for a ride.
Smith told the court that Alexander “in a flash” dashed to get into the car. Describing the crash, Cobden said: “I didn’t do anything stupid … The next thing I remember is being out of the car.”
The prosecution said the vehicle was travelling at about 40mph at the time of the accident.
Cobden’s defence said Ferraris were “temperamental” and argued that the engine was prone to using only six of the 12 cylinders and the car accelerated uncontrollably when all the cylinders kicked in suddenly.
But the prosecution said the car was well maintained and the accident was caused by driver error.
Alexander’s family, from Kings Worthy, near Winchester, said: “We hope the media coverage has in some way increased awareness of the fragility of life and the danger of driving powerful cars for however short a journey, and the necessity of adhering to all sensible safety measures.”
