A New York teenager died test driving a family friend's Lamborghini sports car after crashing the vehicle into a guardrail. The 18-year-old, Samuel Shepard, was cruising early Friday on a county road in Mount Sinai on Long Island when police say he lost control of the high-powered car.

The 2010 Lamborghini's owner and longtime friend of the Shepard family, Michael Power, was also riding in the car as a passenger. Det. Sgt. Michael Fitzharris said that excessive speed is believed to be a factor in the crash, according to Newsday.

He added when asked about the test drive, "I think it was probably just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the kid, and this man chose to give him this opportunity."

Shepard's father, Gene, told Newsday that Lamborghinis were his son's favorite luxury car.

"Since he's a kid, he's been around cars," his father said. "He was a very talented kid with his hands. He always helped me at the shop. ... He used to see his dad was working hard, and he'd pick up tools and start helping."

Authorities also said that the two were driving back to a parking lot at the time of the accident. However, there were no witnesses to see the crash. Shepard's collision with the guardrail around 2:25 a.m. caused the more than $200,000 car to become a ball of wreckage.

Power, 49, was treated for nonlife-threatening injuries after being taken to Stony Brook University Hospital. Suffolk County police shut down County Road 83 for almost nine hours, clearing debris and investigating the crash.

Shepard's father said Samuel knew "exactly what he was going to do" with his life. Shepard had recently graduated from high school and hoped to serve in the Army for a few years and planned to become a police officer.

Related