Here comes another Tesla crash ...

[steve841]

So this was quite literally in front of my house.... Cops think the driver was speeding, lost control and ran in to a tree ... trapped inside and the fire erupted. Likely fatality.

I rolled up a minute or two after ...It was quite a scene.

 

[steve841]

And here you go ...

Tesla crashes into tree in Davie, killing driver, police say

 

[OPRCE]

Sad to see, it looks like another Model S:

"Paramedics pronounced the driver dead at the scene. Witnesses at the scene said the Tesla was traveling at a high rate of speed before the crash."

Also some pertinent/worrisome info from a witness on Twitter:

"We were there. My husband tried to break the back window out. The airbags didn’t deflate after the crash and trapped the person inside. We couldn’t even see inside the car because all of the bags filled the car. The doors couldn’t be opened.

Yes it was already on fire when we arrived. But we were about 15 sec away when it happened. We were close enough to see the debris fly in air and dust when he hit the trees. So the fire took over quickly. The problem was finding tools to break windows or puncture the bags.

We had only a couple of min. Several people were trying to find ways to get to the driver but the car doors and bags trapped the driver and kept us from getting to him before the car was taken over by fire. It was like the fire had an accelerant.

The door handles were flush with the door and there was no way to grab them to open the doors."

 

[Vitold]

And here you go ...

Tesla crashes into tree in Davie, killing driver, police say

Could not have been a Tesla because currently no Tesla can drive on their own.

 

[OPRCE]

Location of crash: view southbound into palm trees on central median of South Flamingo Road at junction with Lake Road:

Speed limit there = 50mph, which from the several chopped down trees I think we can safely conclude was well exceeded.
The trajectory of damage to flora indicates driver was heading southbound and after hitting the main trunk pointing south above the car bounced back to land with the rear bumper on that knicked-over tree pointing north.

In any case, if what the above witness reports is true [which there is no reason to disbelieve] then another Tweet has aged badly:

 

[J.J.]

The door handle comment is an interesting one. You would think the computer would sense a malfunction / collision and expose the handles.

 

[OPRCE]

The door handle comment is an interesting one. You would think the computer would sense a malfunction / collision and expose the handles.

Indeed! Musk's Tweet above was in reply to a worried M3 owner, so I'm not sure if the reassurance is meant to apply to other models also.

As is characteristic, the phrasing seems angled for maximum equivocation.

 

[SO16]

Good for people to have something like this:

3 in 1 Car Seat Belt Cutter and Window Breaker

Also, the doors can be unlocked and the handles flush. But it would be good to have the handles extended in this case.

 

[robby]

If you search Twitter, you'll find conflicting witness accounts about the state of the door handles.

There are a lot of things that can go wrong in an accident, even with the design as Elon described it. The wiring can burn out, the latch mechanism can break on impact, etc. This is why first responders have tools to break windows and shear off doors -- you can't rely on door handles after a car endures extreme damage.

 

[mongo]

Good for people to have something like this:

3 in 1 Car Seat Belt Cutter and Window Breaker

Also, the doors can be unlocked and the handles flush. But it would be good to have the handles extended in this case.

Due to damage, it looks like there may not have been a 12V source to operate the handles...

 

[Jan Fiala]

The airbags deflates on their own very quickly due to the porous nature of the airbag fabric. How it can be that they were still inflated and trapped the driver inside?

 

[Cirrus MS100D]

Amazing that the Twitter account reports the airbags didn’t deflate after the crash.

Must be one of the rare airbag modules like the one on my kids’ bouncy jump house in backyard with a big ass fan on it.

Maybe it was this kind?
Watch Jiffy Pop Airbag Free Online - Saturday Night Live Season 17 Episode 13 Excerpt

Also, the photo of the car on fire isn’t high resolution enough, but it sure looks like there are dark lines (like shadows) above and below both door handles indicating they’re extended, but it could be something else.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

I think the driver was unconscious when the car came to rest and it was just that he or she then didn't push the airbags away so to onlookers it looked like they were trapping the driver inside.

My understanding of the S is that if 12V power fails, there is no way of opening the doors from the outside because the handles won't present. Is that correct?

 

[OPRCE]

Also, the photo of the car on fire isn’t high resolution enough, but it sure looks like there are dark lines (like shadows) above and below both door handles indicating they’re extended, but it could be something else.

Yeah, maybe they just spontaneously pop out once the internal temperature surpasses 1400°C? By the magic of thermal expansion ...

To imagine a half dozen people desperately struggling to get the driver out somehow failed to tug on the extended handles, then conspired in their witness statements to cover that up, is stretching credulity too far.

The more proximate conclusion is that their reports are true, the handles did not present as the 12V battery was likely smashed apart and there is in fact no backup power (second source) to activate the MS doors.

 

[Darmie]

So sad to read. The article quickly goes on about other tesla news but doesn't mention any detail about the accident. I'm wondering if the driver had a medical concern that may be related to the crash.

 

[David_Cary]

Seems like Florida is a dangerous place to drive a Tesla.

 

[Az_Rael]

The airbags deflates on their own very quickly due to the porous nature of the airbag fabric. How it can be that they were still inflated and trapped the driver inside?

Amazing that the Twitter account reports the airbags didn’t deflate after the crash.

Must be one of the rare airbag modules like the one on my kids’ bouncy jump house in backyard with a big ass fan on it.

Maybe it was this kind?
Watch Jiffy Pop Airbag Free Online - Saturday Night Live Season 17 Episode 13 Excerpt

Also, the photo of the car on fire isn’t high resolution enough, but it sure looks like there are dark lines (like shadows) above and below both door handles indicating they’re extended, but it could be something else.

After my crash in my Model S, my side airbags did not deflate. They were hard as a rock full of air, and I had to crawl under them to lever the driver door open.

Are they supposed to deflate?

 

[OPRCE]

After my crash in my Model S, my side airbags did not deflate. They were hard as a rock full of air, and I had to crawl under them to lever the driver door open.

Are they supposed to deflate?

View attachment 380404

Thanks for definitively nailing that ill-founded objection!

 

[mongo]

After my crash in my Model S, my side airbags did not deflate. They were hard as a rock full of air, and I had to crawl under them to lever the driver door open.

Are they supposed to deflate?

View attachment 380404

Guessing not. Watching the crash dummies, there can be secondary side bounces, versus the steering wheel which is usually only impacted once due to amount of moment/ force needed.
Car hits something, head tries to hit steering wheel shortly there after.
Versus, car hits something, based on angle, head tries to hit side window immediately, after impacting the steering wheel, or both,

Edit: they can also be configured to assist during roll over:
How Side Curtain Airbags Work

 

[Kant.Ing]

Very sad to watch.

But is it the fire or the door?

Were I there at the scene, I'd wear my heat resistant gloves to help.