Photo: Boreno
While the late reveal of the May 7 fatal accident involving the use of Autopilot made all the headlines last week, a Model S with a driver and his son on board was busy rolling over on a Dutch highway.
The Swedish driver (nicknamed Boreno) and his eight-year-old son were returning home from a road trip around Europe (well, at least that part of Europe where they have Superchargers) and were driving in the middle lane of a three-lane highway somewhere between Eindhoven and Den Bosch.
It should be said right from the start that Boreno wasn't using the Autopilot at the time of the crash, but was instead cruising at 130 km/h (80 mph) using his two legs and two hands. All of a sudden, the car was launched in the air, it tilted to the left, touched the asphalt with the driver's side and then began to roll over several times become coming to a complete halt.
As you can see, the Model S looks like it was saved a few seconds too late from the crusher, with the wheels detached and a pretty flat roof. However, the good news is that both the driver and his young passenger got out of it safe and sound, with only a few minor scratches and bruises. They spent the night in a hospital just to make sure there were no concussions, but were allowed to leave the next morning. Boreno remembers the incident:
"I was probably knocked out for a second by the airbags. I saw my son above me, looking straight at me. He said, loudly but without shouting, “What is happening, daddy?”. There was no fear in his voice, just the question. The car continued straight ahead, rolling over sideways, bounced off the roof, continued the roll and bounced on the roof again. The inside had been transformed into an inflatable castle. There were giant airbags everywhere, except for the front airbags in the steering wheel and above the glove compartment."
The police told Boreno what happened, as his memory of the crash is limited to what he could see. It turns out that a truck driving in the first lane got annoyed by a car moving too slow and decided to overtake without checking his mirrors. He smashed straight into the Model S, sending it flying.
"There are many questions remaining after the accident," Boreno says in a lengthy post (worth reading, though) he wrote on Tesla Club Sweden's forum (available in English). "Was the autopilot on? Did I react to the truck or trailer entering our lane? I don’t remember. Maybe I had activated the autopilot just before it happened, it is not out of the question. What is clear is that after a violent crash we stepped out of the car on our own, pretty much unharmed."
Indeed, all accidents involving Teslas have shown what a resilient car Musk's company has built. All but one.
It should be said right from the start that Boreno wasn't using the Autopilot at the time of the crash, but was instead cruising at 130 km/h (80 mph) using his two legs and two hands. All of a sudden, the car was launched in the air, it tilted to the left, touched the asphalt with the driver's side and then began to roll over several times become coming to a complete halt.
As you can see, the Model S looks like it was saved a few seconds too late from the crusher, with the wheels detached and a pretty flat roof. However, the good news is that both the driver and his young passenger got out of it safe and sound, with only a few minor scratches and bruises. They spent the night in a hospital just to make sure there were no concussions, but were allowed to leave the next morning. Boreno remembers the incident:
"I was probably knocked out for a second by the airbags. I saw my son above me, looking straight at me. He said, loudly but without shouting, “What is happening, daddy?”. There was no fear in his voice, just the question. The car continued straight ahead, rolling over sideways, bounced off the roof, continued the roll and bounced on the roof again. The inside had been transformed into an inflatable castle. There were giant airbags everywhere, except for the front airbags in the steering wheel and above the glove compartment."
The police told Boreno what happened, as his memory of the crash is limited to what he could see. It turns out that a truck driving in the first lane got annoyed by a car moving too slow and decided to overtake without checking his mirrors. He smashed straight into the Model S, sending it flying.
"There are many questions remaining after the accident," Boreno says in a lengthy post (worth reading, though) he wrote on Tesla Club Sweden's forum (available in English). "Was the autopilot on? Did I react to the truck or trailer entering our lane? I don’t remember. Maybe I had activated the autopilot just before it happened, it is not out of the question. What is clear is that after a violent crash we stepped out of the car on our own, pretty much unharmed."
Indeed, all accidents involving Teslas have shown what a resilient car Musk's company has built. All but one.
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