A delivery driver was killed while unloading an Andy Warhol-painted BMW M1 Art Car on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on September 17 after an apparent equipment malfunction. Officials say a winch that was holding the historic racecar in place gave way right as the unidentified man was unloading it from a flatbed truck. It pinned him down and killed him after life-saving efforts were unsuccessful. Video also shows some damage to the car, but that is really the least of anyone’s concerns.
The car was set to appear at an event hosted by the Hagerty Drivers Foundation for their “Cars at the Capital” event that was set to run from September 17 to 23, according to 7NewsDC. The car, which was hand-painted by Warhol in 1979, was recently placed in the National Historic Vehicle Registry and was on display at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance alongside BMW’s latest art car: Julie Mehretu’s M Hybrid V8.Â
Warhol famously painted this M1 in just 28 minutes, and it’s widely considered to be one of the most valuable of all the Art Cars BMW ever commissioned. While I’m sure that’s still true, it is sad that its legacy is now marred by this terrible incident.
The show won’t go on
Following the horrific accident, Hagerty made the decision to cancel all Cars at the Capitol events for this weekend, which definitely makes sense. We reached out to the car insurance giant for a statement on the matter, and here’s what a spokesperson told us:
On Wednesday afternoon there was a tragic accident in Washington D.C. during which a truck driver died while unloading a car. Our sincere and heartfelt condolences go out to the individual’s family. Out of respect for the deceased, we will not comment further at this time, and have cancelled the events planned for September 18-23.
We also reached out to a spokesperson at BMW, who offered an extremely similar statement to Hagerty’s, minus the details about the event.
On Wednesday afternoon there was a tragic accident in Washington, D.C., during which a truck driver died while unloading a vehicle. Our sincere and heartfelt condolences go out to the individual’s family. Out of respect for the deceased, we will not comment further at this time.
Obviously, it’s still very early days for this story, so we will be sure to bring you updates as they come in.
