PIEDMONT — Alcohol, medicine and extreme velocity precipitated the deadly Cybertruck crash final yr that killed three latest Piedmont Excessive College graduates, in keeping with a California Freeway Patrol investigation.
Soren Dixon, 19, Krysta Tsukahara, 19 and Jack Nelson, 20, all died within the Nov. 27 wreck. A fourth individual survived.
The Piedmont Police Division launched the most recent replace within the CHP’s investigation late Friday afternoon and PPD spokesperson Cpt. Chris Monahan stated his division wouldn’t be holding a press convention or interviews in regards to the newest replace as different companies proceed to research the lethal crash.
The triple fatality occurred at 3:08 a.m. when the Tesla Cybertruck pushed by Dixon collided with a tree on Hampton Street between Seaview and King Avenues. A smartphone alert notified police of the collision and was shortly adopted by a 9-1-1 name.
A motorist trailing the Cybertruck previous to the crash was capable of rescue one passenger from the automobile. In accordance with police, the automobile was “fully engulfed in flames” when officers arrived on the scene and “(e)fforts to rescue the remaining passengers were unsuccessful.”
Piedmont Fireplace crews arrived at 3:16 a.m. and tried to snuff out the hearth contained in the automobile and to get entry to Dixon, Tsukahara and Nelson, however they had been unable to take action on time. Paramedics handled the rescued passenger, who glided by ambulance to a hospital.
The Alameda County Coroner’s Workplace dominated that Dixon, Tsukahara and Nelson all died of asphyxiation from smoke inhalation and from the extreme burns they suffered. The coroner’s report additionally discovered Dixon was intoxicated whereas driving the Cybertruck with 0.195 alcohol focus – greater than 20 occasions the authorized restrict for somebody beneath 21 – and 180 nanograms of cocaine and 55 nanograms of methamphetamine per milliliter of blood.
The CHP investigation states that reckless driving and substance use had been the primary contributors within the lethal crash, and the Piedmont Fireplace Division dominated out the Cybertruck’s battery because the supply of the hearth within the crash.
Nevertheless, Piedmont Police Division, CHP’s particular investigations unit and the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration proceed to research the circumstances surrounding the occasion.
The lethal crash provides to the rising record of harmful incidents involving Tesla’s Cybertruck since its launch on Nov. 30, 2023. NHTSA has issued seven recollects and approved two investigations of the 2024 Cybertruck since its launch on Nov. 30, 2023. The primary recall affected 2.2 million Cybertrucks for small font on warning labels.
Extra severe faults have been the topic of recollects previously yr. In April 2024, Tesla recalled almost 4,000 automobiles for a defective accelerator pedal that might develop into caught. In November 2024, NHTSA issued a recall for as much as 2,431 automobiles for an inverter fault which will trigger the lack of drive energy. And in January, one other recall was issued for as many as 696,281 automobiles as a result of a glitch within the tire stress monitoring system, which can not alert drivers to underinflated tires, rising the probability of a crash.
The Piedmont crash is the second deadly accident involving a Tesla Cybertruck, following an incident in Chambers County, Texas in August the place a Cybertruck veered off a highway, burst into flames and left its driver useless, in keeping with the Texas media outlet KHOU 11.
Initially Revealed: March 3, 2025 at 2:45 PM PST
