NTSB: Tesla was going 116mph
Two teens died in wreck reviewed by Safety Board
The all-electric luxury car crashed in Fort Lauderdale, killing two.
Three seconds before a Tesla sedan crashed and burned in Fort Lauderdale, leaving two young men dead and a third man injured, the car was traveling at 116 mph, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report Tuesday.
The luxury electric sedan, which does not use gasoline, caught fire in the May 8 crash near the beach. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue used between 200 and 300 gallons of water and foam to put it out, the NTSB said.
The car’s lithium-ion highvoltage battery ignited twice more after the initial fire, as the 2014 Tesla Model S sedan was being loaded onto a tow truck and again at a storage yard, the NTSB said.
Killed in the crash were driver Barrett Riley, 18, of Fort Lauderdale, and Edgar Monserratt Martinez, 18, of Aventura.
Injured was Alexander Berry, 18, of Fort Lauderdale, who was thrown from the burning wreck.
Tesla declined to comment on the federal agency’s report.
Riley and Martinez were seniors at the Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale and planned to attend college in the fall.
The three friends were trav-
eling in Riley’s father’s car on a Tuesday evening.
The Testa was headed south along Seabreeze Boulevard, which has a posted speed limit of 30 mph, the NTSB said.
Where the boulevard curves to the left, drivers are warned with a sign and flashing beacon to slow to 25 mph.
Witnesses told the NTSB that the Tesla drove into a left lane to pass another car and lost control as it tried to move back into the right lane. Three seconds before impact the car was traveling at 116 mph. It slowed to 108 mph as the driver applied the brakes, and then decreased to 86 mph, according to data from the car, the NTSB said.
Days after the tragic crash, a relative of Riley told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the car had been modified so that it could not go faster than 85 mph. The relative, an aunt named Pat Riley, said she didn’t understand how the NTSB found that the Tesla went so fast.
“I would hope the NTSB focuses on why the car caught fire, and why the boys could not get out,” Riley said. “It’s just so sad and difficult for the families. Our lives will never be the same.”
The Tesla twice struck a wall at 1313 Seabreeze Blvd., and witnesses said it burst into flames after the second collision, the NTSB said. The Tesla then continued south across the boulevard where it hit a metal light pole and stopped in a driveway. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue found the car fully engulfed in fire. Riley and Martinez died at the scene, Fort Lauderdale police said.
The Broward County Medical Examiner’s office used dental records to identify the young men. It found Riley died of injuries from the fire. Martinez had broken bones as well as firerelated injuries, the office said.
Firefighters used foam and water to extinguish the fire. The NTSB said the battery reignited as the Tesla was being removed from the crash scene, that fire was put out and it caught fire again at a storage yard, and again had to be extinguished.
Tesla’s owners manual for the 2014 Model S says firefighters should use large amounts of water to cool a burning battery; that battery fires can take up to 24 hours to fully extinguish and that they should be monitored for reignition.
The NTSB could take up to 24 months to complete this investigation and said it was working with Fort Lauderdale police on the case to determine what caused the crash.
“The goal of these investigations is to understand the impact of these emerging transportation technologies when they are a part of a transportation accident,” NTSB Chairman Robert S. Sumwalt said on May 9, when a team arrived in Fort Lauderdale to examine the wreckage.
ljtri sc hit ta@ sun sentinel .com, 954-356-4233 or Twitter @LindaTrischitta