Watch: Tesla Model 3 Crashes And Burns In Taiwan, Driver Dead
Watch: Tesla Model 3 Crashes And Burns In Taiwan, Driver Dead
On April 1, a Tesla Model 3 slammed into a “traffic island” in Taoyuan, Taiwan, overturning and bursting into flames, killing the driver, Taiwan News Online reported.
“Firefighters found the car ablaze when they arrived at the scene of the single-vehicle crash on Zhongzheng Road, Longtan District at around 12:30 am Wednesday morning.
Details of the incident were widely reported today after one of the firefighters wrote a detailed Facebook post about the procedure of dealing with an AEV fire.
Tesla Model 3 crash in Taoyuan, Taiwan
When the firefighter identified the vehicle as a Tesla, he called a second firefighting unit for support, as electrical vehicle fires require specialist procedures.
Fires in electric vehicles can’t be extinguished with foam or other chemicals.
Because EVs are silent, firefighters may not realize that the vehicle is on. If they try to help the occupants, they are at risk of electric shock.
After stabilizing the main fire, the lithium-ion batteries continued to burn. While continuing to douse the heat source, firefighters from the second unit went in to disable the power supply via the front hood.
After the power off and stabilization procedure, firefighters cut the 32-year-old driver, named Tang, out of the wrecked vehicle, but Tang was obviously dead, and his body had been badly burned by the fire.”
Tesla Model 3 crash in Taoyuan, Taiwan, aftermath
Taiwan News made no mention if the vehicle’s Autopilot was engaged during the incident.
Last month, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the Autopilot was partially to blame for a fatal 2019 crash in Florida that involved a Tesla.
In March of last year, we also reported that the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was conducting an “ongoing investigation” involving two crashes in the state.
Assuming a preliminary report of the Taiwan crash could be published in the near term. The report could shed light on the driver’s final moments and if Autopilot was engaged before the collision.
