Founder of clothing firm killed in Ferrari crash

By SERENA MARIA DANIELS, SARA FAY, CARLOS ARIAS and DOUG IRVING

The Orange County Register

updated 10:47 a.m. ET March 12, 2009

NEWPORT BEACH — A larger-than-life character who called himself “Mask” and who helped create a mixed-martial-arts empire from the back of a van died early Wednesday when the Ferrari he was driving crashed into a light pole.

Charles Lewis Jr., 45, of Huntington Beach, the co-founder of a $100 million company called TapouT, was declared dead at the scene. The impact ripped the car in half and sent his passenger, an unidentified woman, to the hospital.

Police arrested the driver of another car, a white 1977 Porsche, on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. An on-duty officer reported seeing that driver, Jeffrey David Kirby, 51, of Costa Mesa, flee the scene after his Porsche was involved in the crash.

Kirby has a history of driving violations, including a 2002 conviction for driving under the influence, court and Department of Motor Vehicle records show. He was being held in lieu of $2 million bail.

The police officer who witnessed the crash reported seeing the Porsche driving next to the Ferrari on Jamboree Road, near Eastbluff Drive, according to the Newport Beach Police Department. The two cars appeared to spin out of control, possibly after colliding, police said.

The Ferrari jumped the curb and then slammed into the light pole. The officer reported seeing the Porsche stop briefly, and then drive away, police said.

Police found a white Porsche with moderate collision damage a few blocks away, and stopped a man and woman who were walking away from it. They later identified the man as Kirby. They arrested his passenger, Lynn Marie Nabozny, 32, of Newport Beach, on suspicion of public intoxication; she was later released.

Skid marks on the road pointed the way to the crash site. The Ferrari – a 2004 Modena likely worth around $140,000 – was cut in two, its rear coming to rest more than 30 feet away from its front. The unidentified woman who was riding in it as a passenger was thrown from the car; her condition was not known late Wednesday, but police described her as stable.

SOURCE