A young driver had a bit of a nightmare on a wet road recently, spinning their car and crashing into a barrier while driving. That wouldn’t normally make the news, but this time the driver was using their phone and streaming the whole thing online when they crashed their custom McLaren supercar into a highway barrier.
Obviously, to be driving a six-figure McLaren supercar just days before your 21st birthday means this isn’t a regular young whippersnapper. Instead, it was YouTuber and online personality Jack Doherty at the wheel of his custom McLaren 570S.
In a video posted online, Doherty was at the wheel of his McLaren with a friend filming from the passenger seat. The pair were heading down a rain-soaked highway when the very-nearly-21-year-old appeared to do something on his smartphone, reports Forbes. Moments later, the car spins out of control and the footage comes to an end.
Doherty posted his own version of events online (linked below.) In his video, he showed footage of the clean up following the crash and a visit to hospital for him and his buddy, who needed medical attention after hitting his head hard in the crash. He also talked to from his mom, who warned that the way he drives could lead to an accident, and finishes by saying that the big lesson he’s learned is “no more driving cars like this in the rain.”
In the clip, the YouTuber also talks about how the crash was at relatively low speeds and came as a result of hydroplaning in the rain. He doesn’t mention using his cell phone at the wheel, which Forbes suggests could have led to a lapse in concentration that resulted in the crash:
Influencer Jack Doherty recently made headlines after crashing his McLaren, with video evidence suggesting he looked down at his phone just before the collision.
A clip of the livestream that circulated online shows Doherty glancing down at his phone before losing control of the McLaren and crashing into the guardrail.
While this video offers a glimpse of what might have caused the accident, the same conclusions could have been reached through a forensic examination of his smartphone alone, even if the video didn’t exist.
Forbes continued, explaining that there doesn’t need to be video evidence of you using your phone for law enforcement to figure out if distracted driving was at play in the lead up to a crash like this. According to the site, crash investigators can analyze data from your cell phone to see what applications were in use and whether the phone was locked prior to a crash. This helps them to paint a picture of the scene inside the car before an incident.
Here in the U.S. penalties can range from $25 to $1,000 for cell phone use while driving, however if you’re the kind of driver who can afford a six-figure McLaren then a penalty like that probably won’t make much different to your day-to-day.