Journalist Shall Not Kill Journalist. Or Perhaps He Shall

Jack Baruth
by Jack Baruth

The Ariel Atom: first a “race car for the road” in Europe, then a road car that can also be raced in a spec series. Like the Lotus/Caterham Seven and a variety of other thousand-ish-pound kit-style cars, the Atom has a very different set of dynamic capabilities from what one would find in, say, a Corvette. As a former owner of a Lotus Seven clone, I can attest that it’s easy to get in trouble on the street when driving a lightweight vehicle sans electronic helpers, and the penalties for making mistakes are higher than they are in an Escalade or Phantom.

Want proof? Look no further than the AutoGuide report that a journalist has been killed during a European test drive of the Atom 3.

Belgian lifestyle journalist Michael Cornette was killed when the Atom in which he was riding struck a grain silo at high speed. The driver, Mattieu Desmet, has been placed in an induced coma while the doctors figure out what to do with him. Details are hard to come by, but apparently the car was being “tested” for an upcoming feature, and the Atom was reportedly owned by an individual, not by Ariel. Mr. Desmet may or may not be a journalist — it appears to be a common name in Belgium — but for those of us who are forced to endure “driving partners” on press events, it’s a reminder: screwing up isn’t the only way to die in a press car. Sometimes, the fellow next to you can cash your check, as well.

Jack Baruth
Jack Baruth

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  • Motard Motard on Jan 05, 2012

    Michael Cornette was indeed a journalist with a local newspaper called "Krant van West-Vlaanderen". Apparently, he was writing a lifestyle story about owners of fast cars. During the accident he was riding shotgun while the owner, Mattieu Desmet, was driving. Road conditions were not ideal that day as it was somewhat damp. The driver lost control on a straight piece of road. To me it looks like it happened at the beginning of a more industrial zone.

  • Dwford Dwford on Jan 05, 2012

    This Atom 3 must have been the turbo. I owned an Atom2 with the Honda K20 motor for 2 years, and short of dropping the clutch to do a burn out, even full throttle application doesn't cause the rear to kick out. The K20 doesn't had enough torque. I drove mine on public roads and did countless full throttle acceleration runs, and never had the Atom even twitch. This guy must have been seriously hooning.

    • DenverMike DenverMike on Jan 05, 2012

      It's more likely he got in over his head at speed and locked up the front brakes in a turn. Actually it doesn't take too much speed to kill when it's car vs. unmovable object. 40MPH will suffice especially with no airbags and open cockpit.

  • Manic Manic on Jan 06, 2012

    Address for Google Street View is: Kanaalstraat, Harelbeke, Belgium Seems to be straight street between the canal and concrete factory (who owns the silos) with 2 bridges, one of which matches the one on photos.

  • Nvdw Nvdw on Jan 06, 2012

    Jack, The driver of the car was definitely not a journalist. The Belgian media all state that the driver was the owner of the car on which Cornette would be doing a report.

    • Jack Baruth Jack Baruth on Jan 06, 2012

      Some of the early translated reports I saw indicated that the owner was a third party, but I wasn't sure how trustworthy that was.

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