Two charged over China 'Fast & Furious' Lamborghini-Ferrari crash

Last month’s crash of a Lamborghini and a Ferrari in the capital of the communist nation sparked a wave of online speculation and comment.

Xinhua news agency, which reported the charges, identified the drivers as Yu, 20, and Tang, 21.

It said Yu drove a red Ferrari in a drag race against Tang’s green Lamborghini on the city’s Datun Road.

Both cars were badly damaged when they careered through a tunnel guardrail and smashed into walls at speeds of more than 160 kph (99 mph), it quoted the city’s Traffic Management Bureau as saying.

“The case caused quite a stir on the Internet, renewing criticism on the reckless behaviour and blatant lawbreaking by some members of the ‘second wealthy generation’, the children of China’s new rich,” Xinhua commented.

The crash drew mocking online comment at the time, especially after authorities described the drivers as unemployed.

“Socialism is so good that it allows unemployed people to drive supercars,” one posting said on Sina Weibo, China’s version of Twitter.

“What are their names? Who are their fathers?” another netizen asked.

A high-speed Ferrari crash in the capital in March 2012 killed the son of Ling Jihua, a close ally of then-president Hu Jintao. Two women passengers, one of them naked, were both injured.

That incident added to public perceptions in China of corrupt and high-living officials, and Ling has since been investigated for graft and dismissed from his post.

Last month’s crash happened as the seventh stunt-filled “Fast and Furious” movie opened in China.

“Were they in a hurry to watch Fast and Furious 7?” one netizen asked at the time. -AFP