A Ford F-150 driver appears to have side-swiped a Tesla in a hit-and-run incident, and the entire incident was captured by the EV’s internal camera system. However, according to the Tesla driver, this is just part of the story. Apparently, the pickup truck owner was attempting to evade the police after performing donuts on a golf course.
This story comes from Reddit, where a user shared a video capturing the accident. In the footage, an F-150 in lane one pulls up alongside the Tesla in lane two and forcefully side-swipes it. While we can’t definitively determine the intent behind the crash, it’s evident that the F-150 driver clearly veered into the Tesla’s lane. Simultaneously, both vehicles were entering a gentle left bend, raising the possibility that the truck driver might have been distracted.
The original poster believes that it’s also plausible that he might have been under the influence of something. He gave the plate number to the police, who followed up with the driver at his home. Allegedly, the Ford’s insurance adjuster told the Tesla owner that the truck owner was losing his license and insurance coverage because he “forgot to take his anti-seizure medicine… you can’t drive if you take those types of meds.”
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Perhaps that’s why the OP reports on Reddit that the police were attempting to apprehend the person after they had “plowed through a gate leading into a golf course located on this road where they were caught doing donuts.” Unfortunately, they weren’t able to capture the Ford driver in time to save this Tesla from the scrap yard. The poster mentions that the damage seen in this video was substantial enough to affect the frame, and the repair costs would have exceeded the value of the entire car.
This isn’t entirely unheard of when it comes to many electric cars. Often, the technology within them can be prohibitively expensive to repair when damaged. Fortunately, in this case, the person had the footage to prove exactly what happened in the accident. They mentioned that their insurance was cooperative throughout the process and even paid out more than expected. It’s a reminder to stay safe on the road because you never know when someone, perhaps off their medication, might be driving alongside you.