HIGHWAY PILE-UP Police officers investigate damaged Ferrari cars at the site of a traffic accident on the Chugoku Expressway in Shimonoseki, southwestern Japan Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011. Thirteen sports cars, including eight Ferraris, a Lamborghini and two Mercedes-Benz, were involved in the accident, slightly injuring 10 people. AP Photo/Kyodo 黑料社
TOKYO鈥擲peeding was fingered as a possible cause Monday of what is believed to be Japan鈥檚 most expensive ever road accident when up to $4 million worth of supercars ended up in a crumpled heap on a highway.
Eight Ferraris and a Lamborghini 鈥� plus a Toyota Prius 鈥� were among the vehicles involved in the crash, which witnesses said happened when a speeding car slid across a wet road surface.
Television footage showed mangled Ferraris 鈥� many of them racing red 鈥� and debris spread over some 400 meters of the east-bound side of the Chugoku Expressway, the main trunk road in southern Honshu.
A pack of about 20 supercars was traveling in convoy on Sunday morning on a stretch of wet highway when the leading Ferrari slid into a guardrail, police said.
Those behind slammed on their brakes, but for many of them it was apparently too late.
鈥淚鈥檝e never seen such a thing,鈥� highway patrol lieutenant Eiichiro Kamitani told AFP by telephone. 鈥淔erraris rarely travel in such large numbers.鈥�
Kamitani said 10 people 鈥� five men and five women 鈥� sustained slight injuries, in the accident. 鈥淚t is highly possible that they were driving in couples.鈥�
鈥淢any of them were probably on their way to Hiroshima,鈥� some 130 kilometers (80 miles) to the east, for a gathering of supercars there, said Kamitani.
鈥淪peeding was possible but we have yet to determine the exact cause,鈥� he added.
The Prius and a second Toyota also caught up in the 14-car smash were not thought to be part of the supercar pack. The three other vehicles involved in the accident were all Mercedes-Benz.
An unidentified male eyewitness told the TBS network: 鈥淎 group of cars was doing 140-160 kilometers (85-100 miles) per hour. One of them spun and they all ended up in this great mess.鈥�
The speed limit on that section of the highway was 80 kilometers per hour.
鈥淭he front car crashed into the left embankment and bounced off toward me,鈥� another man told public broadcaster NHK.
One of the Ferraris was reported to be a F430 Scuderia, a model with a top speed of 320 kilometers per hour.
Kamitani said the lead Ferrari was being driven by a 60-year-old self-employed man from Chikushino, near Fukuoka, on the southern island of Kyushu.
Japanese media said the total cost of the pile-up could run to 300 million yen ($3.8 million), with new Ferraris retailing at more than 20 million yen each and Lamborghinis costing anything up to 30 million yen.
Supercars are not necessarily owned by the super-rich in Japan. Many owners are young people who save up their earnings to satisfy their dream, according to media.