I’ve loaded and unloaded dozens of cars from trailers at this point in my life, and while I think I’ve gotten pretty good at it, there’s always a thought in the back of my mind that one little mistake or equipment failure can have disastrous consequences.
It was reportedly an equipment failure that caused the death of one man yesterday in Washington D.C. as he was helping to unload BMW’s most prized automotive possession: the BMW M1 Procar art car painted by Andy Warhol.
The car was set to be on display as part of Hagerty’s “Cars at the Capital” event happening September 17 to the 23. But before it could be put on display, the unthinkable occurred. From ABC7 in Washington:
Officials said a winch holding the vehicle gave way as the man unloaded what appeared to be the BMW M1 Procar from a flatbed truck, pinning the man down and later killing him at the scene. Life-saving efforts were taken
U.S. Park Police officials were also spotted at the scene, which remained active as of 5 p.m. The vehicle was spotted hours later being loaded up in a vehicle.
Here is that 1979 BMW M1. This was done by Andy Warhol and also raced in the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans
It was scheduled to be exhibited here on the National Mall for next week #7newsdc pic.twitter.com/61NQlQ1Cak— Josh Chapin (@JoshChapinNews) September 17, 2025
The use of winches to get vehicles onto trailers is a common practice. Many higher-end trailers come with winches mounted to the front of their respective beds. They’re especially useful for getting cars onto trailers without having to drive them on, whether for mechanical or preservation reasons.
The man has yet to be identified, but going by the Reliable Carriers logo on the side of the single-vehicle, roll-off style flatbed truck shown in photos and videos from the scene, he was likely a driver for the vehicle delivery service. Reliable didn’t immediately respond to my request for comment. A perusal of Reliable’s different offerings shows what looks to be the truck used for the delivery:
Hagerty sent the following statement:
On Wednesday afternoon there was a tragic accident in Washington D.C. during which a truck driver died while unloading a car. Our sincere and heartfelt condolences go out to the individual’s family. Out of respect for the deceased, we will not comment further at this time and have cancelled the events planned for September 18-23.
BMW sent an identical, word-for-word statement, minus the event details:
On Wednesday afternoon there was a tragic accident in Washington D.C. during which a truck driver died while unloading a car. Our sincere and heartfelt condolences go out to the individual’s family. Out of respect for the deceased, we will not comment further at this time.
TRAGIC scene out on the National Mall as it appears there was an accident unloading this Andy Warhol designed BMW for the “Cars at the Capital” display, and a worker was killed.
New information shortly on @7NewsDC pic.twitter.com/oFS9PoyDZF— Scott Thuman (@ScottThuman) September 17, 2025
Hagerty’s Cars at the Capital was the latest stop in a world media tour for the Warhol M1, which has also included an appearance at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. I saw the car myself at Pebble Beach just a month ago, sat alongside Julie Mehretu’s BMW art car, the BMW M Hybrid V8 race car.
BMW has owned the M1 art car since new. It’s widely considered to be the most valuable of the 20 art cars made (BMW officials have suggested to me in the past that it could be worth up to $200 million on the open market). Warhol famously painted the entire thing in 28 minutes, before it went on to race in the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car finished second in class and sixth overall. Just last month, it was added to the National Historic Vehicle Register, a federally recognized program that records the history of significant vehicles, according to Hagerty. It’s unclear from the available photos whether the Warhol-painted M1 was damaged in the incident.
Trailering cars is no joke, folks. Be careful out there.
Top image: screen capture of Josh Chapin video, @JoshChapinNews
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The post Delivery Driver Killed Unloading Andy Warhol BMW M1 Art Car appeared first on The Autopian.
