A shop owner who was left traumatized recounted a harrowing incident where he attempted to rescue a man and two children trapped in a Tesla that had caught fire after its automatic doors locked them inside.
Roman Jedrzejewski witnessed the tragic event unfold in Western Germany when the Tesla veered off the road while overtaking another vehicle in Villigst. The car collided with a tree, igniting a blaze that claimed the lives of three occupants, while a nine-year-old girl managed to escape and was taken to a hospital.
Describing the scene, Roman shared how he struggled to open the Tesla’s retractable handles to no avail. He had been working at his paint shop when he heard screeching tires and a loud crash, prompting him to rush towards the smoke with a fire extinguisher in hand. Despite his efforts, the fire was too intense to be contained.
Expressing his anguish, Roman mentioned his futile attempts to rescue the trapped individuals, especially the children, as the heat from the flames made it impossible to open the car doors. The victims included a 43-year-old man and two nine-year-old children, with local authorities launching an investigation into the incident.
Concerns have been raised about the functionality of Tesla’s retractable door handles, which reportedly become inoperable when the power is cut off. This design feature has posed challenges for rescue operations, as manual door opening from the outside is not feasible, complicating efforts to extract occupants from the vehicles.
The North Rhine-Westphalia Police Department’s specialized team is set to conduct a comprehensive examination to determine the factors contributing to the tragedy. The district police department emphasized the importance of reconstructing the sequence of events to establish the root cause.
Efforts to obtain a response from Tesla regarding the incident are underway.