An Automotive journalist has been charged with vehicular manslaughter following the death of Lori Jamieson. Frank Filipponio, 37, was test driving a GT 500 Shelby Mustang when he lost control of the vehicle on California’s Pacific Coast Highway and left the road, running over Jamieson.
The incident took place in May and charges were laid Monday. Filipponio was also charged with speeding — purportedly exceeding 75 mph.
Not a felony
According to prosecutors, Filipponio acted “unlawfully” but “without malice [or] gross negligence,” resulting in misdemeanor charges rather than a felony.
Felony charges in cases of vehicular manslaughter are less common, but California prosecutors famously charged 86-year-old George Russell Weller with 10 counts of felony vehicular manslaughter when he apparently confused the accelerator with the brake pedal and crashed into a crowded market in 2003.
Wrong place, wrong time
Jamieson, 48, was walking on a trail through Crystal Cove State Park with her longtime friend Teri Iannotti. The two routinely took that path, which comes relatively close to the highway at certain points.
Filipponio lost control of the 500 horsepower car while shifting gears near the park, police said. The car jumped the curb and travelled some distance from the road. Jamieson was pronounced dead at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.
Iannotti spoke with the Orange County Register, recalling the May 2nd accident: “We were laughing shoulder-to-shoulder and she was telling me how happy she was to be getting married,” said Iannotti, a Laguna Beach resident who was with Jamieson when she was killed. “Then we heard a terrible screech and saw the car traveling toward us at a terrible rate of speed. And in an instant, my friend was gone.”



09/18, 7:16 PM
posted by:
LamborghiniZ
ummmmm….
09/18, 7:33 PM
posted by:
Dav is Dead
so all those new pedestrian safety laws for the front bumper dont work? curious…
09/18, 7:44 PM
posted by:
Hugh Jass
Filipponio should lose the ability to operate any motor vehicle for the rest of his life.
09/18, 7:57 PM
posted by:
Driven
Ford better get their lawyers ready. When the family sues they will be advised to follow the money. That means naming in the civil suit the journalist, the publication (it happened while working) and Ford (the owner of the car).
Filipponio should lose his job, lose his license and go to jail for a long time. Unfortunately he only got misdemeanor charges which means a slap on the wrist.
I feel for the Jamison family.
09/18, 8:04 PM
posted by:
Scott Kempton
Wow—talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That is really unfortunate. You notice that the article didn’t say who the writer worked for? I wonder if it’s any of the publications I read?
1115—
1) Are you looking at a different article than I am? The only picture associated with this one is of the front of the wrecked car.
2) Do you really think this means there was something wrong with the car, and not the fault of the driver?
3) You obviously think the driver of the car was a woman. How many women do you know named Frank?
Dav is Dead—this car wasn’t designed according to those new standards. And even if it had been, and even if the car did hit the woman squarely with the front bumper, no bumper design is going to protect a pedestrian from a car going at a high rate of speed.
09/18, 8:05 PM
posted by:
Foreigncarssuck
ITS THE DRIVERS FAULT NOT THE MUSTANGS YOU IDOITS!
I WILL PUT ANYONE IN CHECK HERE WHO BASHES AMERICAN PRODUCTS!
09/18, 8:07 PM
posted by:
Scott Kempton
Driven—unfortunately, I’m afraid you’re right. I would hold Mr. Filliponio and his employer responsible, but not Ford. They can’t be held responsible for every dumb ass who gets behind the wheel of one of their cars—even if it IS a hot rod Mustang.
09/18, 8:07 PM
posted by:
Foreigncarssuck
IF THIS WAS A TOYOTA BOTH PEOPLE WOULD BE DEAD CAUSE TOYOTAS ARE MADE OF RECYCLED CAMPBELLS SOUP CANS.
09/18, 8:08 PM
posted by:
Scott Kempton
Foreigncarssuck—time for your Ritalin, dude. Calm down.
09/18, 8:15 PM
posted by:
Foreigncarssuck
scott kempton time for you to put away the joint DUDE!
09/18, 8:24 PM
posted by:
autonut
We did not hear from GM-salesman-of-the-month that it would never happen to a Camaro. Is Foreigncarssuck possessed his body and soul?
09/18, 8:26 PM
posted by:
Foreigncarssuck
c’mon anyone else?
09/18, 8:45 PM
posted by:
Madcapp
In all reality, auto makers have no business offering cars with that much power to the general dumb public. Or else this type of tragedy is gonna be a weekly event.
09/18, 8:53 PM
posted by:
anyclearer
this things always get off track. Sorry to hear about the women losing her life. And it is the driver not the cars fault. And he should have things happen to him. But i think this is clearly an accident……like we have allllllll had. Just this is a very sad example. I dont think just anyone should be able to get behind the wheel of any car. Clearly the more the hp, the more someone needs to be more attentative when driving them, not that on regular cars you dont need to be but this just shows how things can turn out bad, if you cant handle whats under your hood.
09/18, 8:58 PM
posted by:
TOZO
It’s sad, but if it was a Chinese car, the pedestrian would have been unscratched & the driver, the journalist, would have been crunched to death in his car.
09/18, 9:03 PM
posted by:
Foreigncarssuck
HAHAHA TOZO THAT IS TRU! TRU DAT ! HAHAHAHA
09/18, 9:17 PM
posted by:
jamaicandude
Sad news. C’mon guys… does it matter what kind of car killed her? You can’t hold car manufacturers responsible for driver error or indiscretion. It doesn’t matter whether the story said 500hp Shelby Mustang, 900 plus hp Veyron or 1200hp Shelby Ultimate Aero. Barring mechanical failure of some sort, the auto manufacturers can’t be held responsible.
09/18, 9:26 PM
posted by:
Foreigncarssuck
^^^^ TRUE!
09/18, 9:38 PM
posted by:
Americancarssuckkkkk
Blame de car maker for lending car with 500bhp to a jackass that dont now how to shift. They shoud be more carefull to how they lend there cars to.
09/18, 9:56 PM
posted by:
Foreigncarssuck
comment above, Are you in kintergarden still? Or just that stupid?
09/18, 10:06 PM
posted by:
Americancarssuckkkkk
It’s just my opinion dont like it dont read it. And you are not loking in the mirrow Foreigncarssuck dont confuse me with you.
09/18, 11:08 PM
posted by:
Deanster
Obviously there is no fault with the car, and I would venture to say that losing control on a twisty highway is not so out of the ordinary. Happens in Mediterranean countries all the time – go to any Greek island and witness the small shrines set up at the edges of the roads – each one represents someone’s death in an MVA.
09/19, 12:21 AM
posted by:
R1GHT30U5
What a sad story for all involved. Goes to show you there is a time and place for hauling of the ass. This was the wrong time and place and I am sure restraint was not used.
You have to think about the consequences of your actions before you make a move.
09/19, 12:40 AM
posted by:
tripleonefive
When the article was first posted there was a pic of a woman Im guessing it was the women who caused the crash They changed it to the pic you see now
09/19, 12:40 AM
posted by:
Cyclone of Red
But bottom line, that’s sad. I do feel for her family and fiancé. It’s such a meaningless way to go.
09/19, 1:33 AM
posted by:
Elvio
Foreigncarssuck
09/19, 1:36 AM
posted by:
Got Handling?
Agreed very sad, but ultimately just an accident. The journalist was on the open road outside of town, away from pedestrians, which is probably the right time and place to be hauling ass unless we feel that it should be stopped altogether. Remember that the car had to jump a curb and travel a considerable distance from the road before it found its unfortunate victim.
.
This is not Ford’s fault, and it may not even be the journalist’s fault but it is the journalist’s responsibility. As conscientious enthusiasts of performance cars we must take responsibility for the results of driving high performance cars or else governments will be right to deprive us of them. The prosecutors would appear to have made a good decision.
.
1115, what kind of twisted mysogenistic halfwit do you have to be to blame this crash on the woman?
09/19, 2:21 AM
posted by:
tripleonefive
When I saw the pic of the woman I took it to be the woman driving. I made a mistake Mr Frank whatever was the driver so the woman was the one who died Either way her pic shouldnt have been shown
The xxxxxxx drivng the car or a mechanical failure in Ford or a combo of the two caused the accident
09/19, 2:56 AM
posted by:
Rotman
If the car jumped the curb and travelled a considerable distance, I’m reasonably sure the driver crossed the speed limit by quite a few miles and is 100% responsible for this woman’s death. Not the car.
09/19, 4:23 AM
posted by:
AgmLauncher
Of course Ford SHOULDN’T be held responsible, but that’s not how the American “justice” system works. The “justice” system basically allows lawyers to make connections to things you can’t possibly make any logical connections to, AND get away with it.
It also ends up that way because judges/juries miss the forest for the trees.
It’s simple: the OPERATOR of the vehicle is the sole cause of this accident. Not the company he works for, not Ford, not the company that made the tires, not the company that sold the steel to Ford, just the OPERATOR.
How on EARTH you can hold other people accountable for the actions of the operator is beyond me :S
But the American “justice” system allows for that so……
09/19, 4:42 AM
posted by:
fisher321
I googled Frank Filiponio and it appears he writes for Barrett-Jackson.
09/19, 5:04 AM
posted by:
fisher321
I corrected the spelling to Filipponio ( 2 Ps ) and came up with auto blog as his employer.
09/19, 7:06 AM
posted by:
Rotman
He was doing 75mph according to this post:
http://www.ocregister.com/news/filipponio-jamieson-park-1848067-crash-police
09/19, 8:06 AM
posted by:
Get Real
I stopped buying Motor Trend because all they cared about was how fast the car went. Never a word about problems or reliability.
A Ford Pinto could go fast given enough time and a straight road. Big Deal. Stop and get blown up from behind or watch the window crank break off in your hand.
I read Automobile, a magazine that lists car failures.
BUT nobody can compare to the complaints listed on this website.
09/19, 8:34 AM
posted by:
autonut
AgmLauncher, it seems that you mastered law and ready to move onto brain surgery. American Law is based on British legal doctrines. Perhaps 30-50% of humanity are following those legal principals.
If Ford sold the vehicle, the owner would be responsible, but it was Ford property and was landed for publicity sake. The woman got killed and they stuck with bad publicity. If I let my child who has driver license to drive my car and and my kid commit a crime in the process, how am I NOT responsible? Actually as a parent I am not responsible for the crime itself, but I will be responsible for financial damages. I may be wrong, since I am NOT an attorney.
09/19, 10:26 AM
posted by:
buytheredcar
Lost control of the car while shifting?
I think there is more to this story. Perhaps we will never know
Was the guy working while this happened?
Magazines dont test cars on PCH.
You cant really drive that fast on PCH anyway…
09/19, 10:53 AM
posted by:
Hugh Jass
Depends where on the PCH – ask Stefan “I used to drive an Enzo” Eriksson.
09/19, 11:38 AM
posted by:
Driven
Foriegncarssuck & scott kempton, Re-read my comment… I DID NOT WRITE FORD WAS AT FAULT. You both got so excited and jumped all over my comment before reading it carefully. All I said is Ford would be named in a civil suit. And Ford will be named because Ford holds the title to the car and Ford gave the car to the journalist.
Its a different set of rules in civil court than criminal court. Ford isnt criminally responsible but they are partially responsible under civil law since Ford is the owner of the car and lent the car to the journalist.
Loan your car to a friend and the friend kills someone. You are not at fault but you can be sued since the accident happened in a car you own. Ford is in that situation now and since Ford has the deepest pockets of all civilly responsible (journalist, magazine, Ford) they will definitely be named in the suit.
Foriegncarssuck, I know this idea of responsibility under civil law is difficult to understand. But I suggest you pick up a book once in a while before you start calling other people stupid or dumbasses. The only stupid dumbass on this site is you for attacking others comments before fully understanding the concepts behind what the person was writing.
09/19, 1:01 PM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
Madcapp: people are responsible for their own actions. If someone can’t control real HP, maybe he should consider an A—a.
getreal: “A Ford Pinto could go fast given enough time and a straight road” How long is enough time, four days? But, you’re fight about Automobile.
GM sales: a yogo or a Bentley could be a deadly car, under the wrong circumstances
09/19, 1:10 PM
posted by:
Scarface03
Autonut–generally speaking in this context, parents are responsible for the actions of their children only if the parents reasonably believed that their children would drive the car dangerously. Ford’s on the hook (potentially) only if there was something wrong mechanically with the car itself (or if the there was an inherent flaw in the design). If there was something wrong with the car, I’m sure the lawyers will find out and sue Ford.
We don’t know the details about this case, but in my mind, I’m suprised things like this don’t happen more often. Auto journalists take great pride in their shenanigans on on the road–constantly boasting about their speeding tickets or exploiting twisty on-ramps. We’ve all read about them.
Car mags go to great lengths to rent out tracks and stick to safe testing, the journalists have no business exceeding speed limits or power oversteering onto an interstate, and the like, on public roads. And, GotHandling?, I don’t care if its far away from where you think pedestrians might be. This accident, however improbable it might of seemed, shows that it’s probable enough to NOT engage in this behavior.
If it was a freak accident, well those happen, no matter how tragic the results. But all we know from the article is that the accident apparently occurred while the driver was shifting gears. And if it turns out he was heel-and-toeing through a curve, focusing his shaky vision on the perfect line through an apex with the tach in the power and torque sweet spot and 500 bhp under his foot on a public?… what’s not GROSSLY negligent about that scenario?….
I hope this starts the wave of change for all auot journalists. Whatever Fillipponino was doing when he ended Jamieson’s life, it was likely very preventable, and wouldn’t have–in the slightest–sold any more magazines or spawned any more hits on a website than if he was just driving safely.
09/19, 3:39 PM
posted by:
norby413
This forum has gone beyond pointless.
Thanks children.
09/19, 5:08 PM
posted by:
Commodore
Agreed ^
09/19, 6:43 PM
posted by:
1c3d0g
I’m with Commodore on this one. How do you blame Ford for this incident while it’s clear that the driver lost control of the vehicle?!?
09/19, 9:33 PM
posted by:
DomKing
I hate to admit it, but, the horsepower wars will only lead to more of these accidents, and it makes absolutely no difference who manufactured the car. Driving a sports car very hard and fast on an open road is as thrilling as it gets. Unfortunately, some selfish morons can’t seem to keep it on the freeways or the track. Only severe penalties like license suspensions and jail time will help deter the irresponsible ones.
09/20, 11:16 AM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
GMSales: It’s not the car, it’s the driver.
You might argue that a Camaro will have better brakes, and therefore give the driver a better chance of stopping in time, but If the driver’s not paying attention …
09/20, 1:55 PM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
fake Gm sales: this is going to be confusing.
Camaro’s a perfectly fine car. I’d rather have than than one of those PBADs with a giant spoiler and a fart can.
No V6, though.
Ford should not be held responsible, but this is Cali, and I’m sure as Driven said, the lawyer’s will go after the deepest pockets.
09/21, 10:42 AM
posted by:
tripleonefive
wow thats 6 thread and counting I like your mom she needs comapnyu after your dad died Kill yourself lol
this is fun
09/21, 11:19 AM
posted by:
lamboz get a life
What?? Get some original comebacks, stupid little kid.
My Dad died in a horrific car crash by a drunk driver whom was textmessaging while talking on the cellphone, eating Mcdonalds, drinking hot coffee, jacking off, and punishing her kids in the back seat.
Wow, your not only young and dumb, your cold. While my Dad rest in peace , taking a dirt nap, sleeping with earthworms, you make jokes
Yep this is fun.
Especially fun because I out talk you because your mentally retarded.
09/22, 9:33 AM
posted by:
BLISS
SORRY TO HEAR