- Three teenagers were killed when the Tesla slammed into a cement wall and caught fire.
- Police believe that speed played a role in the fatal crash.
- Initial investigations didn’t indicate that mechanical problems contributed to the accident.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has confirmed it’s looking into a recent fatal crash involving a Tesla Cybertruck that killed three teenagers in California late last month.
The accident occurred in the early hours of November 27 in Piedmont. Local police officers quickly responded to the scene and found the Cybertruck engulfed in flames. A witness pulled the sole survivor from the truck. All four occupants were 2023 graduates of the Piedmont High School who had returned home to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Watch: Tesla Cybertruck Crash Leaves Three Dead After Catching Fire
While recently speaking with Business Insider, a spokesperson from the NHTSA said the agency “is aware of the crash and is gathering information from the manufacturer and law enforcement.” The official noted that no formal investigation has been launched at this stage.
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, both the Piedmont Police Department and California Highway Patrol said they were looking into the cause of the crash. Piedmont police chief Jeremy Bowers suggested that speed likely played a role.
“It’s safe to say that speed was a factor. Now, are there other factors associated? That is certainly possible, but speed is likely a contributing factor to this collision,” he said. Police added there were no immediate signs that mechanical problems with the Cybertruck had contributed to the crash.
The Tesla caught fire soon after colliding with a cement wall and getting wedged between it and a large tree, but it’s currently unknown whether its high-voltage battery pack was the cause. While Piedmont fire chief Dave Brannigan said that it resembled a “typical car fire”, Bowers commented that it was “too intense” and the police officers, who tried to extinguish it, couldn’t. Eventually, fire crews put out the blaze.
This was the second fatal accident involving a Tesla Cybertruck in the US. The first occurred in early August when a man driving his electric pickup crashed near Beach City in Chambers County, Texas, slamming into a concrete culvert and triggering a fire.
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