Three young people are dead and another three injured after a Tesla going 100 mph went airborne and tore through a power pole and building in a horrific crash in southern California.
Surveillance video captured the moment the vehicle ran a red light in Pasadena’s Foothill Boulevard Saturday morning before the driver of the 2013 Tesla Model 3 suddenly lost control and struck the curb, KTLA reports.
The vehicle was launched into the air and collided against a power pole and then a vacant building located more than 100 feet away, with all the victims ejected from the car.
The impact killed 22-year-old driver Moheb Samuel, his best friend Esrom Fessemaye, and 20-year-old Stefan Michael Pfeifer, police said.
Samuel’s 17-year-old sister, Emily, was among those injured in the horrific crash, along with 20-year-old Emerson Newquist, and 18-year-old Bella Ramirez.
Emily was listed in critical condition, while Newquist and Ramirez were said to be in stable condition.
Pasadena PD noted that all four passengers in the back were not wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash.
Officials said there was evidence that there was alcohol in the Tesla and the county medical examiner’s office will perform a toxicology test to determine whether the driver was impaired or under the influence.
The Pasadena PD did not provide additional details as the case remains under investigation.
Samuel previously was arrested for a DUI last September and had his license suspended, ABC 7 reports. California Highway Patrol records show he was issued a misdemeanor citation and released.
Samuel and Fessemaye were both employees at a nearby gas station, with the 22-year-old preparing to go to culinary school, according to his family.
Pfeiffer was an accomplished Eagle Scout and student at Pasadena City College, according to a GoFundMe created by a friend of his family to raise money to afford a funeral service.
“We are all devastated by Michael’s sudden and tragic passing and his family is not prepared for the high cost of a memorial service,” Margo Ortiz wrote.
Shaun Quinn, one of Samuel’s friends, also created a GoFundMe page to raise $50,000 for the families of the victims.
