Louis Saha 'lucky to be alive' after crashing Ferrari
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Everton striker Louis Saha 'lucky to be alive' after crashing Ferrari
Luxury: Louis Saha pictured with his £170,000 458 Italia Ferrari
Everton striker Louis Saha narrowly cheated death on Sunday night when he smashed his Ferrari sports car on a busy country road.
The former Manchester United ace, 32, was on the Altrincham Road, in Wilmslow, Cheshire, when he lost control of his car shortly before 9pm.
Police sources have indicated the damage to the vehicle was 'extensive'.
Amazingly the Frenchman - who was in the car alone - escaped without injury and did not need hospital treatment.
A Cheshire Police spokesman said: 'We can confirm there was a road traffic accident on Altrincham Road, Wilmslow, at 8.54pm. Fortunately there were no injuries.'
A source added: 'The car was extensively damaged. He is lucky to be alive.'
Action: Saha played for Everton against Sunderland on Saturday
It is not known what Ferrari he was driving but the star does own a £170,000 458 Italia model, of which all 1,200 were recalled by the manufacturers in September last year as a design fault could cause them to catch fire.
The first incident occurred in July, when the driver noticed the rear panel of his 458 Italia was on fire while he was driving in Paris. A passer-by used a fire extinguisher to douse the flames.
A few days later the engine of an Italia driving up a mountain pass in Switzerland caught fire. In August last year a 458 in China and one in the US burst into flames.
After sending its engineers around the world to investigate the reports of 'thermal incidents', Ferrari asked the owners, including around 50 in Britain, to bring them in for modification work.
Eric Clapton, the rock star, and Chris Evans, the broadcaster, are also among the car's owners.
Ferrari said the problem had been traced to adhesive used in the wheel-arch assemblies. In certain circumstances the glue could have begun to overheat, smoke and even catch fire.
In extreme cases, the melting of the adhesive could lead the heat shield - the liner protecting the engine - to deform and move closer to the exhaust, causing the lining to catch fire.