The speed of the Ferrari that split in half?
Slate's Daniel Engber explains how it is we know that shady Gizmondo chieftain Stefan Ericksson's grand theft auto'd Ferrari Enzo was going precisely 162mph at the time of impact, ripping the car into two pieces. It would be difficult to condense the variables that go into this determination, but here goes:
Inventory where the pieces ended up (like the gun ... or Dietrich?)
Factor in the "coefficient of friction" of the surface
Apply some rudimentary physics
?
Voilá!
Investigators also use the level of damage from the impact and, using data compiled by manufacturers and insurance companies (who else?), they can extrapolate the car's speed. Oh yeah, and there's a black box whose information isn't always reliable or applicable, so investigators usually use a combination of all three techniques to triangulate a correct answer. In this case: 162mph.
Question is, how much--in Gizmondos--does an investigation like this cost taxpayers? Twenty Gizmondos ... fifty?
