YouTuber Jack Doherty, who made headlines over the weekend for writing off his McLaren 570S while live-streaming, has got away with just a ticket, according to a crash report obtained by the Miami New Times.
Doherty, 20, was driving the car down a highway near Miami in torrential rain. Simultaneously, he was live on streaming platform Kick, being filmed by a passenger, and was seen glancing down at his phone as he drove along.
After a brief flare of revs, the car broke loose at an indicated 70mph, at which point any attempts to correct the loss of control were in vain. Moments later, the car speared into a metal barrier.
Egregiously, Doherty continued to stream after the crash, despite his passenger – identified only as Michael – visibly bleeding from a significant head wound. The McLaren, which wears a paint gun splatter wrap, had its front end completely destroyed by the impact – or in Doherty’s words, “my whole f***ing car broke” – and its airbags deployed.
Another piece of footage shows Doherty and his passenger being helped from the car by bystanders – all while he continues streaming – where he seems visibly more concerned about the car than the wellbeing of his friend.
According to the New Times, the crash report from the Florida Highway Patrol states that Doherty was slapped with a traffic citation for using his phone while driving. According to Florida law firm Wiseman, a citation differs slightly from an on-the-spot ticket in the state, as it usually requires the cited individual to appear in court.
Traffic citations are also split into two categories – civil, which tends to result in smaller fines, and criminal, which can lead to bigger fines and even jail time. It’s not clear which level Doherty has been issued with.
Perhaps the best news to come out of this is that Kick pretty swiftly banned Doherty’s account for its depiction of dangerous and illegal driving. For his part, Doherty has shown very little remorse, only saying in a Tweet “I’m so sorry Michael for putting you thru that,” and then using clips of the crash’s aftermath as the basis of jokes around his upcoming 21st birthday. Road & Track reports that, in response to a question about the crash on a TikTok live broadcast, he blamed hydroplaning, saying: “I’m in a McLaren in the pouring rain, what do you expect? You guys have never drove [sic] a McLaren.”
