3 high school graduates died and 1 was seriously injured in Cybertruck crash: reports

Three recent high school graduates were killed and one was seriously injured when a Tesla Cybertruck crashed near Oakland, California, the day before Thanksgiving.

On Wednesday, November 27 at 3:08 a.m. local time, Piedmont police responded after receiving an iPhone alert for a collision, Police Chief Jeremy Bowers confirmed in a news conference shared online. Facebook.

After police arrived at the scene and found the vehicle “completely engulfed in flames,” an officer confirmed that three people had died in the incident, which occurred at Hampton Road and King Avenue.

Bowers said one person was seriously injured in the crash and was taken to the hospital. The officer also confirmed that he arrived at the scene and found “an uninvolved person removing one of the passengers from the vehicle.” He said it was “possible” that the people had “been at a party together before.”

Bowers did not confirm the names or ages of the victims. He also did not confirm the car model at the conference. According to ABC7 News, KRON AND KTVUall four people involved in the crash are 2023 graduates of Piedmont High School, and they believe the vehicle involved in the crash was a Cybertruck.

ABC7 News added that the victims were college sophomores, and a mother close to the victims’ families said two men and one woman died in the crash. A woman who knew the victims told KRON that they were returning from college for the holidays when the accident occurred.

During the conference, Bowers said he was investigating whether alcohol or drugs played a factor in the crash.

“Speed ​​is likely a contributing factor to this collision,” he added. Bowers also said police were initially unable to extinguish the “intense” flames, but the fire department quickly brought the blaze under control once they arrived on scene.

“There is no indication that mechanical factors were the primary cause of the collision,” Bowers said, adding that the cause of the crash was under investigation.

Sandy Martin, who reportedly taught the victim in middle school, told ABC7 News: “They’re smart kids, they’re good kids. They are also…kids who were very supportive of their friends.”

“This shouldn’t happen to any child. But when you know them, it becomes even worse,” Martin added.

The website, citing the police, reported that the vehicle “jumped the curb, hit a cement wall, and then got stuck between the wall and a tree.”

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“It’s just a tragic death,” Bowers told KTVU. “We do not know the causes of the collision, and during the holiday season our hearts go out to the families who will have to deal with this tragedy.”

“We are just devastated. I know a family whose son is in hospital now. I know other families,” neighbor Aileen Desoto told ABC7 News.

“I know he’s having surgery. He is in the recovery phase. He had several burns. He is sedated. So we hope that he will recover,” Desoto added, according to the outlet.

Bowers did not immediately respond when PEOPLE contacted him for additional information. PEOPLE also reached out to the Piedmont Fire Department and the California Highway Patrol for comment.