This article was written by Duncan Larcombe
and was published on the SUN ONLINE

"SOCCER legend Ian Wright cheated death yesterday after wrapping his £120,000 Ferrari round a tree. The ex-Arsenal and England striker walked away with only bruises after the horror smash. But his convertible 360 Ferrari Spider — top speed 180mph — looked a total Wright-off.

The star, just back from a stint as a Euro 2004 TV pundit in Portugal, was with nephew Shane, 22, when he hit the tree and veered down a bank, narrowly missing a row of houses. Last night Wright, 40, blamed the supercar’s traction control system.

He said: “Any Ferrari driver knows that when you turn the ASR off you’re dancing with the Devil. And if you dance with the Devil you’ve got to be prepared to get your toes stood on.”

But residents on the 30mph street in Croydon, South London, believed Wright may have been driving too fast.

Tom Hardy, 35, said: “I heard the roar of an engine, then there was an almighty bang. The car was a complete mess. I don’t know how they walked away from that alive, let alone unhurt. It would be difficult to do that much damage unless he was going more than 30mph.”

But a police spokesman said last night: “We’re satisfied there’ll be no further investigation into the accident.”

However Wright — who lives near the scene with wife Deborah, 35, and kids Stacey and Bobbi-Lee — may face a fine of more than £1,000 after cops found an out-of-date tax disc on the car.

A Ferrari UK spokesman confirmed turning off the traction control might have contributed to the crash.

He said: “We normally only recommend that on race tracks.” "

 

The tax disc was out of date as well.