The three California teenagers killed in a catastrophic Tesla Cybertruck crash on Thanksgiving Eve were named Friday as Bay Area college students and longstanding friends, as police investigated whether speeding played a part in the tragic accident, officials said.
According to CBS San Francisco, Jack Nelson, Soren Dixon, and Krysta Tsukahara, three 19-year-old college sophomores who met in high school, were driving home from an event in Piedmont at 3 a.m. Wednesday when the SUV jumped a curb, collided with a tree, and caught fire.
A fourth buddy, Jordan Miller, a 20-year-old University of Wisconsin student, survived the crash but sustained severe burns, according to his mother, Samantha Miller.
He was having surgery Friday morning.
“It’s a sad scenario. And, of course, we’re all thinking about the children who were lost,” Miller said.
Nelson and Dixon were teammates on the Piedmont High School lacrosse team, and Nelson also played junior varsity football and varsity soccer.
Dixon went on to play lacrosse at the University of Southern California, and Nelson attended the University of Colorado Boulder, where he joined the Sigma Nu fraternity.
It wasn’t immediately obvious which university Tsukahara attended.
According to authorities, speeding was a likely cause of the crash, which involved no other vehicles.
Piedmont Police Capt. Chris Monahan told the Chronicle that the futuristic-looking electric ride jumped a curb, collided with a cement wall, and became wedged between the wall and the tree.
When cops got on the scene, the SUV was involved in a fire twice the height of the vehicle. Officials from the California Highway Patrol have seized the Cybertruck and will inspect it for any evidence of mechanical breakdown.
This year, Tesla announced a series of recalls for its 2024 Cybertruck models.
Last month, the Elon Musk-owned manufacturer announced the recall of more than 27,000 vehicles due to delayed rear-view camera photos, which might impair driver visibility and increase crash risk.
It also voluntarily recalled thousands of Cybertrucks in April owing to faulty accelerator pedals that might have resulted in deadly accidents, and another in June due to windshield wiper and exterior trim defects.