Deceased 'Tesla Fire' Driver Found in Rear Seat: "Was Not Intoxicated"

Fire at Boundary Wall on Road in Daedeok-myeon, Anseong-si
Driver Dies... Not Unlicensed or Drunk Driving

On the 10th, police analysis suggested that the reason a man in his 30s who died in an electric vehicle fire in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, was found in the back seat was likely due to 'failed escape.'

On the 11th, the Anseong Police Station in Gyeonggi announced that they plan to close the case without prosecution following the death of Mr. A, a man in his 30s who was driving the Tesla electric vehicle that caught fire. The accident occurred at 5:45 PM the previous day on a road in Daedeok-myeon, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi Province. At the time, the Tesla driven by Mr. A crashed into a guardrail, causing the vehicle to catch fire. Fire authorities responded after a witness reported the incident. The fire department deployed 20 pieces of equipment and 60 personnel to the scene and extinguished the flames within about 10 minutes, but Mr. A died. It was reported that Mr. A was neither unlicensed nor under the influence of alcohol at the time.

Scene of a Tesla electric car fire accident that occurred on the road in Daedeok-myeon, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 10th
[Photo by Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters, Yonhap News]

Mr. A was found in the back seat of the vehicle, not the driver's seat. Regarding this, a police official explained, "After the single-vehicle accident, fire broke out under the front part of the vehicle, and it is presumed that Mr. A moved to the back to avoid the fire." The police are continuing their investigation into the decisive cause of Mr. A's death. So far, it is believed that Mr. A was conscious at the time of the accident but died because he was unable to evacuate the vehicle in time. It is possible that after moving to the back seat, he repeatedly attempted to open the door but failed. In this regard, the police plan to focus their investigation on causes such as the 'vehicle locking system' that may have prevented the driver from escaping.

Meanwhile, in August, there was also a fire in a Tesla electric vehicle parked on the street in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The fire occurred around 7:40 PM on August 16th on the street in Gugal-dong, Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province. The vehicle owner noticed sounds and smoke coming from the tires when parking and immediately evacuated and reported the incident.

Fire authorities responded to the owner's report of "a vehicle on fire" by dispatching 57 personnel including firefighters and 20 pieces of equipment such as pump trucks to the scene to extinguish the fire. Firefighters installed a smothering cover and a portable water tank at the site and worked on extinguishing the fire, finally controlling the major flames at 10:57 PM, about 3 hours and 10 minutes after the report was received. There were no casualties from this fire.