Lawyer abandons flooded Ferrari to rush to court
A Canadian lawyer who abandoned his $200,000 Ferrari during the recent destructive Toronto storm has captured the hearts and minds of those looking for a silver lining in the dark clouds.
Howard A. Levitt, a prominent employment lawyer, had driven into an underpass on his way to an important hearing.
According to the Toronto Star, Levitt was attempting to drive through what looked like a regular puddle when his sports car became bogged down in a pool of water spewing up "like a geyser" from the sewer.
'Something had broken,' he said.
At this stage Levitt said his engine was still working but the car was bogged, he couldn't move it forward or back.
'It was really just at tire level at that point. But that’s enough,' he said.
'Meanwhile this geyser was coming out, and it started filling up, filling up, filling up. Getting deeper and deeper and deeper. When it got near the bottom of my windows, it was time to leave.'
After several unsuccessful attempts to call a tow truck, and with no way to rescue the car himself Levitt made the decision to abandon the car.
When Levitt left, his car was slowing filling with flood water and police were on the scene, the road was being shut down.
'By the time I left the scene, it was entirely covered with water. It was right over the roof,' he said.
He rushed to Pearson airport and managed to get on a flight to Ottawa, where the next morning he won a motion for his client.
Though Levitt had no idea what state his car was in when he spoke with the Star, he was in good spirits.
'I guess that’s what insurance companies are for. But the bottom line was, I had a case to get to,' he said.
'You can’t let the client down, no matter what personal exigencies you might have.'
As for the fate of his car, Levitt says it comes back to priorities.
'I don’t want to sound cavalier, but at the end of the day you’ve got to see the humour in it and not sweat the small stuff. And it really is all small stuff,' he told the Star.
'Nobody’s dying, nobody’s sick. The car gets fixed up and there’s insurance for that. I made it for my case and succeeded on my client’s behalf.'
Levitt is said to be an avid collector of sports cars.
The Ferrari damaged by the flood waters is reportedly one of several luxury vehicles owned by Levitt.
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