He drove a Saab 900S in "
Seinfeld" -- and feuded with his mechanic, who stole the car because he didn't take care of it. But in real life, comedian Jerry
Seinfeld is a car-lover and collector -- though, apparently, his luck with maintenance on his rides isn't much better than in his comic life.
East Hampton Town Police said
Seinfeld, driving alone on Skimhampton Road early Saturday evening in Pantigo, had the brakes fail on his 1967 Fiat. In an attempt to avoid a crash,
Seinfeld ended up flipping the car -- which skidded on its roof and came to a stop just before it would have entered an intersection with Route 27, Montauk Highway.
The crash occurred at 7:42 p.m., police said.
"He was very lucky," East Hampton Town Police Chief Todd H. Sarris said Thursday. "There is no question in my mind that, if not for his evasive actions, he would have ended up on Route 27 -- and that could have been bad."
Though the car flipped, Sarris said that
Seinfeld actually made several good decisions that kept him from being seriously injured and might have even saved his life.
Seinfeld was wearing both his lap-belt and a harness, Sarris said. And, when the brakes failed, Sarris said
Seinfeld grabbed the emergency brake and cut the wheels in an attempt to slide the car to a stop. Apparently, though, the tires grabbed the pavement -- and caused the rollover.
It was unclear how fast
Seinfeld was driving when the crash occurred. But police did not issue the 53-year-old comedian any tickets or citations.
The sitcom star, who co-wrote and co-produced the animated "Bee Movie" last year, did not require any hospitalization or medical attention -- though he was reportedly shaken by the time he arrived back at his home in East Hampton.
"I think his actions were pretty astute, actually," Sarris said. "Most people wouldn't have had the wherewithal to grab the emergency brake or to take the evasive actions he took . . . It could have been worse."
A car collector,
Seinfeld has previously told journalists his favorite ride is a 1955 Porsche Spyder -- the same car, by the way, James Dean was driving when he was killed in 1955.
Of course, you would think that when it comes to the Fiat
Seinfeld would find a joke in the crash somewhere.
Any car buff will tell you the old standard for the Italian-built auto, which was a thrill to drive -- but was often a mechanical nightmare. Q: "Do you know what Fiat stands for?" A: "Fix It Again, Tony."
Jerry Seinfeld flips car in East Hampton
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