Bmw Chief’s Crash Judged Pricey Enough

Cracking up a $1 million car was just about punishment enough for the chairman of BMW.

So Munich prosecutors decided Thursday to drop their investigation into Bern Pischetsrieder’s accident in return for an $18,200 donation to charity.

Pischetsrieder, chairman of the luxury car company, was under investigation for causing injury through negligent driving.

The BMW boss, his wife and a friend were slightly hurt when Pischetsrieder crashed a limited-edition McLaren F1 on a country road near the Chiemsee Lake in Bavaria at the end of May. The car, which reportedly cost $1 million, was a virtual write-off.

Only 40 samples were built of the super car, which is powered by a 627-horsepower BMW engine and can reach speeds of 230 mph.

Prosecutors said that Pischetsrieder was driving about 70 mph when he crashed and that they could find no technical flaws in the car. They also concluded that “alcohol played no role relevant to the accident.”