The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into the deadly Tesla Cybertruck crash that happened in Northern California last week. It left three young college students dead and another in critical condition. Right now, the California Highway Patrol is leading the crash investigation. We’ll see how far NHTSA takes it.
The Administration told CBS News it was “aware of the crash and is gathering information from the manufacturer and law enforcement.” Officials did note that NHTSA is only “in the information gathering stage” and no official investigation has been opened up. This, of course, all comes after a Cybertruck crashed and burst into flames on November 27. We previously reported that three people inside the truck were killed and a fourth was pulled from the wreckage by another driver.
Here’s more on the crash, from CBS News:
The fiery collision happened just after 3 a.m. Wednesday on Hampton Road and King Avenue in the small East Bay community embedded within the city of Oakland.
[…]
The Cybertruck may have been traveling too fast when it hit the retaining wall along the road before crashing into the tree, and Piedmont Police Chief Jeremy Bowers said at a Wednesday press conference it was clear speed was at least one factor in the crash.
The circumstances surrounding the cause of the crash and the resulting fire were still under investigation, Bowers said on Wednesday. He added there was no sign of any mechanical problems with the vehicle or that the Cybertruck’s lithium battery played a role in the fire.
The group of students were home in Piedmont for the Thanksgiving break. Their high school, where they graduated in 2023, held a moment of silence on the quad as students wore black and purple ribbons in remembrance. Here’s more from ABC7 News Bay Area:
“It was three students who died and one who is in the hospital expected to survive, but it sounds like pretty significant burn wounds so it’s going to be a long recovery,” said Alisa Crovetti, a psychologist and clinical supervisor of the school’s wellness clinic. “The feeling is very heavy in the community right now.”
The school’s wellness center has counselors on hand – although the clinical supervisor said the students who died were the youngest children in their families so there are no siblings enrolled currently in Piedmont schools.
This is just an all-around terrible story.
