Dual Fatality Model S Crash/Fire: Fort Lauderdale, FL May 8, 2018

[DaveK.]

A few details at this early stage.

* Two 18 year old men killed when car crashes and catches fire
* A third man was ejected (condition unknown)
* Speed is suspected to be a factor
​

Two Teens Killed In Fiery Crash Near Fort Lauderdale Beach
2 Dead as Tesla Catches Fire in Fort Lauderdale After Crash

 

[Tam]

The article says residents are often kept up from sleep at night because of tire noise by drivers who drive too fast on this 30 MPH sharp curve.

 

[Nikxice]

Sad for the families. Early indications of contributing factors could be excessive speed, the curve in the road, and the vehicle striking into a wall.
2 teens dead after Tesla crashes into wall in Fort Lauderdale

 

[jsmay311]

"Police have not released many details but people who live in the area of Harbor Beach say they heard a series of loud crashes just before 7 p.m. and ran out of their homes to find a vehicle fully engulfed in flames."

On the rare occasions that Teslas catch fire, don't the fires typically take a while to build up? Or do they sometimes become fully engulfed very quickly after a crash as described here?

 

[MP3Mike]

"Police have not released many details but people who live in the area of Harbor Beach say they heard a series of loud crashes just before 7 p.m. and ran out of their homes to find a vehicle fully engulfed in flames."

On the rare occasions that Teslas catch fire, don't the fires typically take a while to build up? Or do they sometimes become fully engulfed very quickly after a crash as described here?

I don't know that there is a typical. You never know what happened, maybe they rear-ended a car in such a way that the gas tank burst and sprayed the front of the Model S with gas and then something ignited it causing it to be "fully engulfed" very quickly. (I put fully engulfed in quotes since from the video I saw the back of the car was not on fire, just the front, so I don't considered it fully engulfed in flames.)

 

[Tam]

Could anyone speculate why that dark car is there? It has the shiny chrome "Tesla" on the rear and it looks like a Tesla Model X!

 

[commasign]

Could anyone speculate why that dark car is there? It has the shiny chrome "Tesla" on the rear and it looks like a Tesla Model X!




View attachment 299874

Pure speculation, but maybe the parents of one of the victims, or a Tesla employee sent to assist with the investigation.

 

[TaoJones]

Every week in and around Los Angeles, there’s reporting of a fiery crash via MyNewsLA.com - Breaking news for greater Los Angeles and Orange County. Since this weekend, there have been 3 already. Seemingly more single-vehicle episodes than multiple-vehicle collisions.

It will be a good day when gas tanks don’t explode and battery packs don’t ignite. You’d think in the case of the former at least, the safety standards would be more stringent at least up to 100mph. But then again, that would be naive.

At minimum, hopefully this latest tragedy will in some way give some other young person pause before choosing to speed in excess of what the conditions or what their abilities will tolerate - especially with friends in the vehicle, no matter what kind of vehicle they choose to drive.

 

[docherf]

Could anyone speculate why that dark car is there? It has the shiny chrome "Tesla" on the rear and it looks like a Tesla Model X!




View attachment 299874

That other Tesla was the victims friends,who were following and witnessed the whole thing.

 

[whitex]

That other Tesla was the victims friends,who were following and witnessed the whole thing.

If that's true, Tesla might have the ability to pull the AP video from the chase car, if they download it before it gets overwritten (since that car was not in the crash, it doesn't freeze the blackbox info).

 

[Dborn]

Every week in and around Los Angeles, there’s reporting of a fiery crash via MyNewsLA.com - Breaking news for greater Los Angeles and Orange County. Since this weekend, there have been 3 already. Seemingly more single-vehicle episodes than multiple-vehicle collisions.

It will be a good day when gas tanks don’t explode and battery packs don’t ignite. You’d think in the case of the former at least, the safety standards would be more stringent at least up to 100mph. But then again, that would be naive.

At minimum, hopefully this latest tragedy will in some way give some other young person pause before choosing to speed in excess of what the conditions or what their abilities will tolerate - especially with friends in the vehicle, no matter what kind of vehicle they choose to drive.

During ww2, fuel tanks on aircraft were designed to be self sealing, even if a bullet passed through. You have to wonder why the tech has not progressed and is not universally used today.....

 

[whitex]

During ww2, fuel tanks on aircraft were designed to be self sealing, even if a bullet passed through. You have to wonder why the tech has not progressed and is not universally used today.....

I don't think most car fuel fires are from bullet holes. I guarantee you that there is a maximum size hole such self sealing tanks can heal, and plowing through a wall would likely cause such excessive damage.

 

[Sharpgt]

Just heart breaking how many young people lose their lives in MVAs. The only reason this tragedy will get a lot of press is because the vehicle was a Tesla.

 

[juanmedina]

The car is really bad shape after the crash. They had to be flying. The person on the back seat was ejected from the vehicle and was the only one that survive.

 

[juanmedina]

When other cars crash, catch fire and people die their vehicle brand is not even named. Two articles from yesterday and the day before.... So much bias:

Troopers: Three Dead After Orangeburg Crash, Fire

2 Killed In Coon Rapids Crash, Fire

 

[Burnt Toast]

I don't think most car fuel fires are from bullet holes. I guarantee you that there is a maximum size hole such self sealing tanks can heal, and plowing through a wall would likely cause such excessive damage.

F1 cars run self sealing tanks and there has never been an explosive accident since they started using them.

 

[SSedan]

Had I had access to a quick car at 18yo I probably wouldn't be here today.
Kids do stupid things especially when showing off to friends. Now yes that is a reason to put them in a sturdy car, but also a reason to limit their access to high performance.

 

[Pentium2004]

A few details at this early stage.

* Two 18 year old men killed when car crashes and catches fire
* A third man was ejected (condition unknown)
* Speed is suspected to be a factor
​

Two Teens Killed In Fiery Crash Near Fort Lauderdale Beach
2 Dead as Tesla Catches Fire in Fort Lauderdale After Crash

Very sad. These cars are too fast to let an 18 year old with their friends drive. Kids will always want to show off but don't have the driving experience to handle the car. I believe the lithium fire helped contribute to the actual deaths because structurally these cars can take a lot as we all have seen. It wouldn't have mattered if it was a Tesla or a Chevy, lithium fires are dangerous. If you ever want to see how bad they are charge up an old laptop battery and give it one good smack with a hammer. It will start to swell, smoke and then instantly catch fire like a blow torch. Maybe it would be good for Tesla to add an option like Valet but for teen drivers. Limit speed, acceleration, add geofencing and app alerts when they are doing something they shouldn't.

 

[GatorGuy]

It sad to hear about more death of teens so close to the last accident. These cars are so easy to drive fast but inexperienced drivers just don't know how easy and quickly you can lose control. And of course they don't think about the consequences of such.

After the Model X fire I meant to buy a fire extinguisher although it seemed kinda like a freak accident. However, I definitely will be getting one now.

 

[docherf]

It sad to hear about more death of teens so close to the last accident. These cars are so easy to drive fast but inexperienced drivers just don't know how easy and quickly you can lose control. And of course they don't think about the consequences of such.

After the Model X fire I meant to buy a fire extinguisher although it seemed kinda like a freak accident. However, I definitely will be getting one now.

I'm pretty sure a fire extinguisher won't put out these battery fires