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Tesla Model S Crashes and Burns Taking Two Lives, NTSB Steps In

On Tuesday evening, a Tesla Model S hit a concrete barrier in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and caught fire, killing two teenagers and injuring a third.
Tesla Model S 1 photo
Photo: Tesla
According to local police, cited by NBC Miami, the cause of the crash seems to have been excessive speed. The Fort Lauderdale Police department says a gray 2014 Tesla Motors Model S drove off the roadway and struck a concrete wall. It immediately caught fire, becoming fully engulfed in flames.

Whereas the circumstances surrounding the accident seem to be clear, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stepped in to investigate why and how the vehicle caught fire. This would be the second Tesla car to ignite after hitting a concrete barrier in less than two months.

“NTSB has a long history of investigating emerging transportation technologies, such as lithium-ion battery fires in commercial aviation, as well as a fire involving the lithium-ion battery in a Chevrolet Volt in collaboration with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,” said in a statement NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt.

"The goal of these investigations is to understand the impact of these emerging transportation technologies when they are part of a transportation accident."

The transportation safety watchdog has not yet finished its investigation in the March 23 Model X crash that claimed the life of its driver.

There are two main directions the investigation is likely to take in this latest crash. The first is to establish whether the car’s Autopilot was engaged, and the second to see whether Tesla batteries catching fire is turning into a pattern.

The first task seems to have been solved, as had the Autopilot been engaged, the speed of the vehicle would have been limited to 35 mph. That, says the police, is not the speed at which witnesses claim the Model S was traveling when hitting the barrier.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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