A Qatari national suspected to be Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Thani has fled the U.S. after his hybrid LaFerrari was filmed racing in the Streets of Beverly Hills. He was reportedly prompted to flee, anticipating more scrutiny after the video was uploaded online and immediately went viral.
In the video posted on YouTube, the yellow Ferrari is seen barreling through the street in what appears to be a drag race with a Porsche 991 GT3. The person who took the video made a colorful commentary punctuated with obscenities as he documents the Ferrari violating traffic laws, speeding through residential areas and finally pulling back into a driveway, which houses what appeared to be a black Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, leaving a cloud of smoke in its wake. At one point, the race also dented the Ferrari's chin spoiler as the vehicles made a turn.
The vehicle was accosted by the Beverly Hills police and the driver reportedly cited diplomatic immunity, according to Auto Blog. The State Department did not confirm the Ferrari as a registered diplomatic vehicle.
"It is against a federal law for someone to claim diplomatic immunity when they don't have it," Dominick Rivetti, Beverly Hills Police Chief, said in the report.
Unfortunately, the alleged Qatari royalty has also sped out of the country before any charge has been filed. The police were not immediately able to make an arrest because they did not witness the incident, according to BBC.
One of the witnesses who confronted the driver about his irresponsible driving was also threatened. "He told me verbatim, 'I could have you killed and get away with it,'" Jacob Rogers said in the Independent report.
The Al-Thani family rules Qatar but it is not yet clear what Sheikh Al-Thani's role is in its government. The family is known for its collection of sports cars, which are shipped to different parts of the world for the enjoyment of family members.
