FORT LAUDERDALE, FL- Yahoo.com reports that two 18-year-old boys were killed in a single-vehicle crash. The teens were traveling in a Tesla Model S on a strip of road known locally as “dead man’s curve” when their vehicle struck a wall and immediately caught fire. One witness stated that the boys were moving while in the […]
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL- Yahoo.com reports that two 18-year-old boys were killed in a single-vehicle crash. The teens were traveling in a Tesla Model S on a strip of road known locally as “dead man’s curve” when their vehicle struck a wall and immediately caught fire.
One witness stated that the boys were moving while in the burning vehicle but were trapped and could not get out. The teens died before anyone could get them out of the car. The victims, Edgar Monserratt and Barrett Riley were both seniors in high school with plans to attend college next fall.
A third teen, Alexander Berry, 18, was a backseat passenger in the Tesla. Berry was reportedly thrown from the vehicle. The nature of Berry’s injuries have not been reported, but he was transported to the hospital following the collision.
Investigators are still looking into the cause of the crash. It appears that speed might have been a contributing factor in the accident. Larry Groshart, who was a witness to the collision, stated that the Tesla appeared to be traveling somewhere between 50 and 60 miles per hour.
The ongoing investigation is primarily concerned with the fire that rapidly burned up the car. The electric battery was the source of the fire, and investigators are looking to understand the way this new technology is impacting crashes so that emergency responders can learn how to properly react.
Tesla has stated that the company is in “full cooperation” with the investigation and is “working to establish the facts of the incident.” They stated that the vehicle’s autopilot was not being used when the accident occurred. Tesla’s vehicles are all equipped with self-driving software that the company boasts is able to operate a vehicle more safely than a human driver, but which has faced scrutiny following a fatal crash in March 2018.
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