Donations flood in for driver who smashed into 3 Ferraris

An exhausted Taiwanese delivery driver who smashed into three Ferraris has been inundated with donations after his plight and eye-watering repair bill sparked a deluge of public sympathy. Lin Chin-hsiang had a particularly miserable day at work in the early hours of Sunday morning when he drifted off at the wheel while delivering incense to nearby temples on a windy mountain road above Taipei.

He not only managed to wreck his family’s car but also ploughed into a trio of Ferraris whose owners had parked by the side of the road midway through a weekend morning drive in the hills. “I must have fallen asleep, I’m not sure what happened,” the soft-spoken 20-year-old told AFP on Thursday from the incense shop in the capital where he works alongside his mother. “I will work hard to pay for the damage,” he added.

No-one was hurt in the collision but Lin faces a mammoth bill because his car insurance has a cap on payouts. Local media quoted Ferrari dealers in Taipei as saying the repairs to the vehicles could cost NT$12 million ($390,000) -- a figure that would take Lin decades to pay off. But ordinary members of the public have flocked to his aid. City authorities said a fund set up to receive donations had so far received NT$814,000 ($26,400).

Lin said he had to drop out of college this summer to help his mother run their incense shop -- his father died some five years back. He also held down a second job at a nearby barbecue restaurant. The day of the accident, Lin’s mother recalled, her son had worked a restaurant shift until 3am, briefly slept and then began deliveries around 5am because she had been feeling unwell.