BATON ROUGE - A powerboat enthusiast and car sales business owner was killed in a crash along with his father Friday night.

Michael D. Pierce, 39, of Gonzales, and the 59-year-old elder father with the same name of Springfield, IL, were killed in the wreck around 8 p.m. on Airline near Barringer Foreman Road.

The initial investigation revealed that the crash occurred as the Pierces’ were traveling northbound on US Hwy 61 in a Ferrari 458 Italia.  For reasons still under investigation, the Ferrari exited the roadway to the right. The vehicle then struck a driveway bordering the roadway and overturned several times. 

Both Pierces’ were unrestrained at the time of the crash, State Police said, and were ejected from the vehicle. They were pronounced deceased on the scene. Due to the severity of the crash, investigators are still working to determine who was operating the vehicle at the time of the crash.

The younger Pierce owned North American Auto Group in Gonzales and was involved in the powerboats industry.