When a car accident happens, escape routes need to be foolproof and always functional. In this tragic event, four people died in a Tesla after the electric doors failed to open, leaving them trapped in the burning car.
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Tesla likes to advertise itself as the 'Safest car in the world,' putting itself above many tried and tested vehicles. However, in this case, the car's basic functions failed, leaving four friends to burn to death as they scrabbled to open broken, faulty doors.
The Tesla slammed into a guardrail along Lake Shore Boulevard East in Toronto. It was moving at high speed, and the collision crippled the internal door mechanism. Tesla doors are designed to open with an electronic button. However, this wasn't functional, turning the car into a death trap.
The collision ignited the car, quickly evolving into an inferno. The five passengers inside scrabbed with the doors, unable to leave the vehicle. Rick Harper, a witness to the accident, quickly jumped to their aid. He smashed a window, helping a 20-year-old woman out of the smoke and flames.
Despite his best efforts, he was unable to see the four remaining people inside the car, trapped by the broken doors of the Tesla. The smoke pouring from the vehicle was too thick, and 25-year-old Neelraj Gohil, his sister Ketaba Gohil, 29, Jay Sisodiya, and Digvijay Patel burnt inside the reck.
Tesla Claims There Is A Manual Back-Up In The Doors
The 'safest car in the world' does have a manual override in the likely case of electronic failure during a wreck. Behind a panel in the doors, a cable can be pulled. This will spring the doors of a Tesla without electronics.
This is not well advertised and should be essential information for anybody buying their cars. Electronic failure is hardly an uncommon probability in a wreck. Furthermore, in a situation such as the one these four friends found themselves in, recalling such information can be impossible. A hidden and relatively inaccessible emergency escape needs to be completely foolproof.
In this case, the failed electronics of the Tesla doors resulted in the tragic death of four people.
