Teslas are remarkable vehicles, but are they too powerful? One man certainly thinks so.
Jon Speckman, whose daughter Casey died in Indianapolis on Nov. 3 after driving intoxicated and crashing her boss’ Tesla Model S into a tree, is claiming that his daughter still would be alive if she was driving any vehicle other than a Telsa, The Indianapolis Star reports. Speckman’s boss, Kevin McCarthy, also died n the accident.
It’s recently acquired video surveillance footage, though, that has Speckman calling foul on Tesla. Video shows that prior to colliding with the tree, Casey had to avoid a wrong-way driver. And while Speckman acknowledges that his daughter should not have been driving intoxicated, in an interview with the IndyStar on Feb. 10, he claims the vehicle’s high-speed capabilities made evading the driver even more difficult.
“This is a vehicle that travels from 0 to 60 in 3.1 seconds. She’s clearly having to swerve to miss a vehicle going the wrong way on a one-way street,” Speckman said told the IndyStar. “If her foot should happen to hit the accelerator, it’s like a rocket ship. I don’t know why they have to make a car that does that.
“Had she been in another vehicle, she would have been alive for me to yell at her for driving after drinking.”
The Model S’ speed isn’t the only thing that might have played a factor, as the vehicle’s battery pack — which contains thousands of small lithium batteries — exploded after impact, causing a massive fire that investigators say contributed to the deaths. Investigators found small lithium batteries popping and exploding near the crash site.
The investigation still is ongoing, as it’s still not known how fast the Model S was traveling at the time of the accident. Tesla declined to comment to the IndyStar about Speckman’s interview, instead referencing a statement it e-mailed to IndyStar on Jan. 27 about the incident.
“We have been deeply saddened by this accident and have been working closely with authorities to facilitate their report,” Tesla said in the statement. “While it can be difficult to determine the precise speed of a vehicle in such a crash, the observed damage and debris field indicate a very high speed collision.”
Of course, these aren’t the first safety-related concerns raised about Tesla vehicles and/or lithium batteries.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Jan. 19 concluded that no defects in Tesla’s Autopilot feature were discovered in relation to a 2016 accident that killed a Florida man. And as for lithium batteries, their fire risks have been highly publicized, thanks to the fire-prone Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
Thumbnail photo via Tesla