Very sad... Fatality in a Model S on the 405

[Az_Rael]

7-year-old girl dies, 13-year-old in critical condition after 405 Freeway crash in Seal Beach

Wow, this is terrible. Who would think they would get creamed by a drunk driver at 9 in the morning on the 405? My condolences to the family.

It is very sad to read this when we hear so many amazing stories about how being in a Model S saved a life. Its stuff like this that makes me hope we get to Level 4 autonomy soon. Take these sorts of a-holes out of the driver's seats.

 

[privater]

DUI is the worst on road, He should be prosecuted with murder.

 

[Neohippy]

Terrible story

 

[Advicebox]

So sad.

 

[1208]

Sad.

DUI is the worst on road, He should be prosecuted with murder.

Agreed.

And people who get caught driving under the influence without crashing should be charged with attempted murder.

 

[twonius]

Sadly odds are this wasn't his first DUI and the BAC will be shockingly high for someone to get behind the wheel. Especially considering the time of day.

https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/811654

 

[luvnMyTS]

Horrible. But the exact reason I said I would never put my kids in the trunk of my car. Have always been surprised that those rear seats were even approved being that they are in the crush zone of the vehicle. Not blaming Tesla at all. It's just physics. Not enough room from the passenger to the rear of the car in a high speed rear end collision. At least in the back seats, the occupants are facing away from the oncoming danger and have the added protection of the seats at their backs with room to push forward. No such possibility in those rear seats. Had hoped i would never have to read about this, but this was my exact fear in those seats and exactly why I did not get them in my car. Prayers and condolences go out to the family of those lost. I pray that parents will learn from this and not subject their kids to this location of ANY car. Again, nothing to do with the Tesla other than the fact that they're one of the few that offered this seating configuration.

 

[luvnMyTS]

If proven to have been drunk, the driver will absolutely be charged with a minimum of vehicular manslaughter and more likely 2nd degree murder.

 

[mhan00]

Horrible. But the exact reason I said I would never put my kids in the trunk of my car. Have always been surprised that those rear seats were even approved being that they are in the crush zone of the vehicle. Not blaming Tesla at all. It's just physics. Not enough room from the passenger to the rear of the car in a high speed rear end collision. At least in the back seats, the occupants are facing away from the oncoming danger and have the added protection of the seats at their backs with room to push forward. No such possibility in those rear seats. Had hoped i would never have to read about this, but this was my exact fear in those seats and exactly why I did not get them in my car. Prayers and condolences go out to the family of those lost. I pray that parents will learn from this and not subject their kids to this location of ANY car. Again, nothing to do with the Tesla other than the fact that they're one of the few that offered this seating configuration.

Why do you think they were in the trunk seats? Article just said the girls were in the back seat. Plus, a 13 year old seems too old and big to be in the jump seats.

 

[mhan00]

Condolences to the family of the victims. Hopefully the elder daughter will be okay.

 

[deonb]

Why do you think they were in the trunk seats? Article just said the girls were in the back seat. Plus, a 13 year old seems too old and big to be in the jump seats.

It doesn't look like that car had trunk seats - trunk seat vehicles have a solid support structure in the back, which isn't visible here - it crumbled like it is supposed to.

However, if the front seat driver had minor injuries and the rear seat passengers both had critical injuries it is possible that the rear seat passengers weren't wearing seat belts. Pure speculation of course.

Here are some larger pictures and it appears as if the rear seat is still intact and latched:

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

.. the DUI suspect, who was driving a Chevrolet Tahoe, was in the fast lane when he swerved into one of two carpool lanes,..The suspect, who was not immediately identified, insisted on being taken to an area hospital for evaluation

The suspect, Adam Kanas, 36 of San Clemente. You know why he insisted on being taken to the hospital for evaluation? He will plead mental incapacity defense. The jackass had enough sense to make such a decision, but not enough sense to not get behind the wheel, drunk, at 9AM.

.. The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog.

 

[luvnMyTS]

it was a seriously hard hit, clearly at a very high rate of speed. i don't know if the kids were in the far rear seats or just the back seats. if they were in the back seats, then they had a better chance. Clearly if that's the case, there's no doubt the result would have been the same for the 7 year old if they were in the far back and likely the 13 year old wouldn't have made it as well. Regardless, those far rear seats scare the heck out of me. I just couldn't put my kids back there. With as bad as this accident was, almost certain nobody in the far rear seats would have survived. Again, not placing any blame on anyone other than the idiotic drunk driver. Just saying, there's no doubt that occupants are less safe in the far rear seats than they would be in the front or regular rear seats. So, just my personal preference, nobody would be riding in my trunk with the car in motion.

 

[NikeWings]

Zero tolerance for drunk drivers and their selfish,thoughtless and irresponsible lives. And I'd throw the book at any establishment and friend that contributed to his condition too.

My heart aches for this family.....their world is shattered, and our world should be utterly ashamed of our lax DUI laws.

 

[Yggdrasill]

Yeah, they certainly are lax. Here, the legal limit is 0.2, and if you're over 0.5 you lose your licence for minimum a year and might go to prison, over 1.2 and you'll lose it for 2-5 years and get a minimum of 21 days in prison. There's also a fine equal to 1.5 months income on top of that, for 0.2 and above.

Anyway, really tragic accident. (Can you really call it an "accident"? "Homicide" seems more appropriate.) Can't wait until autonomous driving becomes standard.

 

[AMPUP]

it was a seriously hard hit, clearly at a very high rate of speed. i don't know if the kids were in the far rear seats or just the back seats. if they were in the back seats, then they had a better chance. Clearly if that's the case, there's no doubt the result would have been the same for the 7 year old if they were in the far back and likely the 13 year old wouldn't have made it as well. Regardless, those far rear seats scare the heck out of me. I just couldn't put my kids back there. With as bad as this accident was, almost certain nobody in the far rear seats would have survived. Again, not placing any blame on anyone other than the idiotic drunk driver. Just saying, there's no doubt that occupants are less safe in the far rear seats than they would be in the front or regular rear seats. So, just my personal preference, nobody would be riding in my trunk with the car in motion.

Except if there was a head on collision in which case the rear facing seats may be the safest place.. Every accident is different and depending on the impact any area can be safer than another

 

[DFibRL8R]

Except if there was a head on collision in which case the rear facing seats may be the safest place.. Every accident is different and depending on the impact any area can be safer than another

And serious head on and side collisions are more frequent. Rear Enders happen all the time but they are usually much lower impact.

 

[purplewalt]

Tragic.
Prayers for this family.

Because the DUI driver was in a Tahoe, the height of the bumper areas do not align.
The rear of any car is not designed to be hit at a high rate of speed by a higher mounted bumper.
-- Looks like in this instance the Tesla does not have the benefit of structural rigidity that the skateboard design gives the car if the DUI vehicle had been in a traditional car height vehicle.

In addition to the two girls, the father was also injured and taken to the hospital, so this was a very high speed impact.

 

[bro1999]

Even the Civic that got tagged by the Tesla in secondary contact after the S got rear ended shows pretty significant damage, which tells you the impact of the Tahoe must have been very severe.

"Adam Kansas, a 36-year-old man from San Clemente, was arrested on suspicion of Driving Under the Influence and booked into Orange County Jail, Joy reported."

That guy needs to be tossed in rape-you-in-the-@$$ prison with the key thrown away. It's a shame the death penalty is not an option.

 

[deonb]

Clearly if that's the case, there's no doubt the result would have been the same for the 7 year old if they were in the far back and likely the 13 year old wouldn't have made it as well.

You can't say that for sure - cars with the rear facing seats at the back are built in a different way (they have a solid bar across the back), so the collision impact will look very different on them.

Most likely the rear would be much more intact, and the front would have a lot more damage. Of course in that case, ALL occupants of the vehicle will suffer more deceleration G's.

So if the car had rear-facing seats installed (doesn't look like it did), it's likely there would have been even more injuries - even if those seats weren't in use.