A former judge and U.S. politician has been filmed crashing into a Tesla Model 3 and leaving the scene. The incident was captured with the electric sedan’s discreet Sentry Mode.
Footage recently posted online shows former traffic court judge Willie Singletary backing out his Cadillac Escalade from a parking space next to the Tesla. However, Singletary misjudges his reversing and the rear quarter panel and fender of his Escalade slams into the rear quarter of the Model 3 in an impact strong enough to noticeably shake the Cadillac. The alarm of the Tesla is immediately triggered by the impact.
Singletary is currently running for a seat on the Philadelphia City Council and is captured on camera approaching the Tesla to inspect the damage. He can then be seen rubbing his hand on the rear of the Tesla, evidently in an attempt to buff out any damage. He also briefly inspects his Cadillac Escalade rental car but doesn’t appear to take any notice of damage. After waiting around at the scene for roughly a minute, Singletary decides to get back into his SUV and leave the scene without providing any insurance details.
Reaching out to Teslarati, the owner of the Model 3 said they contacted Singletary who initially denied hitting the Tesla. However, once Singletary was told that the crash was captured on video, the politician provided his insurance information. A Tesla certified body shop reportedly estimated the Model 3’s repair bill to be $2,000.
In 2015, Singletary was sentenced to 20 months prison and a year of supervised release after he was convicted of lying to the FBI in a ticket-fixing scheme while he was a judge.