A high-speed police pursuit involving a stolen Tesla Model S and the nighttime streets of west Hollywood might sound like something out of the new Transformers movie, but it actually happened last night.
The pursuit ended when the Tesla S struck a Honda carrying five people and was then sliced in half by a light pole. Tragically, because this is real life and not a movie, eight people were injured, four of them seriously enough to be hospitalized.
According to NBC Los Angeles, two police officers involved in the chase were injured, two of the occupants of the Honda are in serious condition and one is in critical condition, and the driver of the Tesla is in critical condition.
Considering the severity of the crash it is amazing that the driver of the Tesla survived at all.
After striking the Honda and several parked cars the Tesla became airborne and struck several light poles. This collision sheered the car in two. The back of half of the car flew several hundred feet where it became wedged between two buildings. The front half remained in the street where the battery pack sparked and burst into flames.
The driver was ejected from the vehicle where they were found by emergency workers.
While Tesla has been involved in a number of fiery incidents, it is hard to imagine that any vehicle would have performed differently under the circumstances.
The scene is still closed off for investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Lt. Mike White of the Sheriff’s department told ABC News that “[he’s] never seen half a car wedged between a building before, and it’s sad. Innocent victims were involved in this.
