A 79 year-old woman has been killed and five people injured after a Tesla crashed into a cafe in Southern California.
The white vehicle was trying to make a turn in Simi Valley at around 2.30 p.m. Monday, authorities said, but instead veered onto the sidewalk and hit the elderly pedestrian.
Emergency responders found the victim trapped under the vehicle when they arrived at the scene outside a Target shopping center, ABC7 reported. She was pronounced dead at the scene after sustaining significant injuries, Simi Valley Police said in a statement.
Aerial footage showed the Tesla with its hood, doors and trunk up, surrounded by orange parasols and knocked over chairs on the Urbane Cafe’s patio off Madera Road.
The driver suffered moderate injuries and was taken to Los Robles Hospital along with a juvenile occupant of the vehicle who suffered minor injuries. Three juveniles were in the car at the time of the crash, cops said.
The Ventura County Fire Department told KTLA that there were six victims in total, four of whom were treated for minor injuries. No-one involved in the incident has been named but the deceased was from Agoura Hills and the driver is a resident of Thousand Oaks, police said.
Simi Valley Police Sergeant Rick Morton told ABC7 investigators have yet to determine whether the crash was caused by mechanical failure or driver impairment, but they do not believe it was deliberate.
“We do know that the Tesla was going northbound through the parking lot,” Morton said. “It was attempting to make a right-hand turn to go eastbound toward Madera and, unfortunately, did not make the turn and went over the sidewalk when it struck the female victim.”
He added that investigators are “still trying to determine if speed was involved.”
Police confirmed to the outlet that the Tesla driver was a 64-year-old woman, adding that there was nothing to indicate drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash.
The Independent has contacted the Simi Valley Police Department, the Ventura County Fire Department and Tesla for comment.
The incident comes after a 76 year-old woman was killed when a Tesla crashed into her home in Texas earlier this month.
Michael Butler was driving a Model 3 when the car ran into a house at a “high rate of speed” and struck Martha Avila inside, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Butler, who was also taken to a hospital, told police he had the car on “autopilot” when it crashed, Harris County Precinct 5’s constable Terry Allbritton said.
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