Stolen Model S crashes after police pursuit. 7/4/14

[jak]

There may be legal implications that prevented them from doing that. (Innocent-until-proven-guilty and so forth.) It perhaps would have to be implemented in such a way that the police could control it directly, though even that gets into a slippery slope. What if the police remotely interfere with the car's behavior, which then still crashes, and the driver (or anyone affected) sues the police for causing the crash? That said, I obviously do wish a remote speed-limiter had been employed in this case.

The interesting part is the car was stolen from a "dealership", so I could only assume it was somehow stolen from Tesla. The nearest "Tesla" is a store, but not too far away is a service center. Taking a look at one of the videos where we can see the license plate of the trunk wedged into the synagogue, it had a regular California license plate, so I'm guessing the car was not a loaner and but rather a customer car stolen from the service center. Loaner cars usually have a dealer plate and limited to a max of 80 MPH. And since reports say he was going 100MPH, there's a higer possibility that this split car is a customer-owned car, not a Tesla-owned car. A look at another video shows either the Tesla owner or a Tesla representative was there at the crime scene. I'm going to guess the latter since the customer is probably asleep at midnight. You can tell because he drove away in a red Tesla with dealer plates (i.e. loaner or test drive car)

I suspect Tesla is going to have a review about this matter. How the heck did this happen?! And the customer who owned the car now wedged into a synagogue will be getting an apology notice and a new car. This is just my guess.

Dumb thief. He should've known that Tesla tracks all their cars and will find you. He must've decided to go on a joyride. If he had his seatbelt on, he might've been able to open the door and run away. Or get whipped unconscious and die by lithium immolation. Instead he flew thru Tesla's super-hardened windshield and that's gonna sting in the morning.

 

[rogbmw]

Doesn't it look like the entire battery pack is still with the front of the car?

 

[AlMc]

The interesting part is the car was stolen from a "dealership", so I could only assume it was somehow stolen from Tesla. The nearest "Tesla" is a store, but not too far away is a service center. Taking a look at one of the videos where we can see the license plate of the trunk wedged into the synagogue, it had a regular California license plate, so I'm guessing the car was not a loaner and but rather a customer car stolen from the service center. Loaner cars usually have a dealer plate and limited to a max of 80 MPH. A look at another video shows either the Tesla owner or a Tesla representative was there at the crime scene. I'm going to guess the latter. You can tell because he drove away in a red Tesla with dealer plates (i.e. loaner or test drive car)

I suspect Tesla is going to have a review about this matter. How the heck did this happen?! And the customer who owned the car now wedged into a synagogue will be getting an apology notice and a new car. This is just my guess.

Dumb thief. He should've known that Tesla tracks all their cars and will find you. He must've decided to go on a joyride. If he had his seatbelt on, he might've been able to open the door and run away. Or get whipped unconscious and die by lithium immolation. Instead he flew thru Tesla's super-hardened windshield and that's gonna sting in the morning.

Another angle, discussed previously. More likely the owner of the car. That is the first person that the police would call to 'identify' the car/speak to the owner. Yes, the person drove away in a 'manufacturer plated car' but this very likely was the loaner he was driving while his car was in for service.

 

[ecarfan]

Not to me. Car split in two just behind the front seats. Pack continues back under the rear seats, I think.

 

[jak]

Another angle, discussed previously. More likely the owner of the car. That is the first person that the police would call to 'identify' the car/speak to the owner. Yes, the person drove away in a 'manufacturer plated car' but this very likely was the loaner he was driving while his car was in for service.

Oh... if that's the case, he sure did keep his professional calmness! New car for him!

 

[alexkiritz]

I dont think there is any legal problem with slowly stopping stolen car - OnStar already does this.

If it is done by mistake and the car stops in a bad neighborhood the owner could be robbed or killed.

 

[scriptacus]

If it is done by mistake and the car stops in a bad neighborhood the owner could be robbed or killed.

Trolling right?

 

[SteveG3]

from the road debris fires we know that the car gave a warning before shutting down. perhaps Tesla could install a system that shuts down the car in stages... i.e. 1) in 30 seconds your speed will be limited to 70 mph, 2) in 3 minutes you're speed will be limited to 30 mph. the process could actually begin by shutting down the stereo system and any other audio outputs to make it hard to miss visual and audio shut down messages. a few minutes with modest highway speed capability would allow the driver at least to get to a shoulder safely if he/she is on the highway, as happened with one of the fires.

this could be done with the requirement of the owners permission (or not). if owner's permission was required it would just make for a less dramatic and dangerous recovery later with GPS.

 

[Kilowut]

Media will always sensationalize this stuff. Correct me if I'm wrong but how many headlines start off with "Fiery Toyota Crash". Unless it's a recall article I don't hear the make of the car in a headline but because it's a Tesla the buzz words are Fiery and Tesla. Personally I see that the Model S did what it was supposed to do. How the hell does a car plow through two cars, two light poles and split in half with one half embedded in a wall with the light pole and the driver survive (even though he was ejected). I'm not sure many cars could have wrecked havoc like that. It looked like an action movie where someone took a Tank through LA. Paul Walker only hit a light pole and died, this thief hit two poles, two cars at 100mp+ and somehow survived. The whole thing is nuts.

 

[Alexander]

Oh... if that's the case, he sure did keep his professional calmness! New car for him!

I don't remember his name, but the guy in the red Tesla with dealer plates works for Tesla. He's not the owner of the stolen car. I don't want to say more then that as I know others on this forum know who he is and haven't said anything. I won't identify him if they're not. But he is not the owner of the wrecked car

 

[AlMc]

I don't remember his name, but the guy in the red Tesla with dealer plates works for Tesla. He's not the owner of the car. I don't want to say more then that as I know others on this forum know who he is and haven't said anything. I won't identify him if they're not. But he is not the owner of the car

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

A very sad situation given all the injuries to the innocent bystanders in the other car(s). I'm one for letting a stolen vehicle go and not have the cops pursue it at high speeds through urban settings; unless there are kidnapped people in there, that is. It's just a car; all this collateral damage is not worth it. EVs in general and Teslas in particular (with all the connectivity, etc.) should be that much easier to track down given the range and recharging time (unless the thieves know exactly what they are doing and have planned for it).

 

[NoMoGas]

A very sad situation given all the injuries to the innocent bystanders in the other car(s). I'm one for letting a stolen vehicle go and not have the cops pursue it at high speeds through urban settings; unless there are kidnapped people in there, that is. It's just a car; all this collateral damage is not worth it. EVs in general and Teslas in particular (with all the connectivity, etc.) should be that much easier to track down given the range and recharging time (unless the thieves know exactly what they are doing and have planned for it).

Two things... Officers were injured early on in the pursuit... No way were they letting that go and 2) At 120 this pursuit didn't last long.

 

[Aussie]

A very sad situation given all the injuries to the innocent bystanders in the other car(s). I'm one for letting a stolen vehicle go and not have the cops pursue it at high speeds through urban settings; unless there are kidnapped people in there, that is. It's just a car; all this collateral damage is not worth it. EVs in general and Teslas in particular (with all the connectivity, etc.) should be that much easier to track down given the range and recharging time (unless the thieves know exactly what they are doing and have planned for it).

Indeed. In many other countries the police cars aren't even fast enough for high speed chases. There is almost never a need for that. And also no need to build in features to stop cars remotely.

 

[evme]

I think the issue came down to it being 2am. No matter how you go about it, there would unlikely be anyone ready to shut the car off. Though I do agree, I don't see any reason why they went on a high speed chase in a city. It should be easy to track the car down.


Also, I found this picture which I haven't seen in many places showing the other side view of the car in the building for those wondering if there was any piece of the battery there:

Edit, another pic:

 

[GabrielB]

As terrible as this theft/accident was, what would the accident scene have looked like had the thieves stolen a Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicle? A CNG vehicle? Would the building still be standing?
As far as horrific accident damage potential, I think the least dangerous is BEV, then diesel, gasoline, 3000psi CNG, and worst ?kPsi Hydrogen Fuel Cell. Somebody please correct me or comment if I am wrong.
I'd rather be in a Tesla Model S than a Humvee or any other car.

 

[gaswalla]

Those cars wouldn't have even come close to 120mph!

 

[James Anders]

I can't wait to see the security cam footage from this camera...

 

[GreenT]

I can't wait to see the security cam footage from this camera...

View attachment 53058

Where does it say this is from a security camera? Looks too low an angle for that. I would say a still shot from a passerby?

 

[James Anders]

I was referring to the 2 security cams that I highlighted on the exterior wall of the building.