High-Speed Tesla Crash Kills Two People in Pinellas County

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on September 4, 2021

According to preliminary collision reports from the responding troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol, two people were killed and three were severely injured yesterday evening after the driver of a speeding Tesla passenger car allegedly ran a stop sign and crashed into a residential home located along Caird Way in Palm Harbor.

It was approximately 10:20 p.m. on September 3, 2021, when authorities with the Florida Highway Patrol operating within Pinellas County were first notified and dispatched to the scene of an auto accident with possible fatalities in a residential neighborhood near the 1400 block of Caird Way. Official details from the deadly incident indicate that a 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid – one of the fastest electric cars on the market today – was traveling at a high rate of speed in the northbound direction of Manning Road while transporting four yet-to-be-identified individuals.

As the unnamed 43-year-old driver of the Tesla approached the T-shaped intersection of Hermosa Drive and Manning Road, he allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign governing the area and crashed into a roadside embankment. The force from this first collision caused the vehicle to become momentarily airborne before it finally came to a rest after slamming into the house located at 1498 Caird Way in Palm Harbor.

Pinellas County emergency response teams along with Florida Highway Patrol officers all converged at the scene of the accident within a matter of minutes to find several individuals suffering from multiple life-threatening injuries. Sadly, a 43-year Tesla passenger from Odessa and a 69-year-old female inside the house both sustained fatal injuries in the accident and passed away before EMTs could administer medical assistance. Two other passengers from the EV, a 28-year-old male resident of New Port Richey and a 48-year-old man from Aurora, as well as the car’s driver, were all transported to local hospitals while one of the individuals was medevaced to Tampa General Hospital on Davis Island. Information regarding their current conditions has not been released to the public. It is unclear at this time if any of the other residents of the home were hurt during the collision.

Unlike the other Tesla models that have been making national headlines recently, this particular vehicle was not operating on autopilot mode when the deadly collision occurred. An official investigation has formally been opened by detectives with the Florida Highway Patrol and further details surrounding the fatal accident will be released upon their completion of the case.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.