Tesla Battery Ignited Twice After Fatal Florida Wreck, U.S. Investigators Say - WSJ

June 26, 2018 7:13 p.m. ET

The battery in a Tesla Inc. Model S car involved in a fatal crash in Florida last month reignited twice after firefighters extinguished the initial blaze that consumed the vehicle on impact, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The report, released Tuesday, is part of the federal agency’s examination of the fire in the electric car’s lithium-ion battery and the emergency response to it. According to the report, the Tesla vehicle was traveling at 116 miles an hour seconds before it...

The battery in a Tesla Inc. Model S car involved in a fatal crash in Florida last month reignited twice after firefighters extinguished the initial blaze that consumed the vehicle on impact, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The report, released Tuesday, is part of the federal agency’s examination of the fire in the electric car’s lithium-ion battery and the emergency response to it. According to the report, the Tesla vehicle was traveling at 116 miles an hour seconds before it lost control near a sharp turn where the speed limit was 30 mph and the advised speed was speed was 25 mph. Roadside warning signs include a flashing beacon.

The NTSB is examining several crashes involving Tesla vehicles, including a fatal crash in March near San Francisco that prompted questions about the safety of the company’s Autopilot driver-assistance system. The NTSB’s preliminary report on that incident, which was released this month, said that Autopilot had prompted the driver to grab the steering wheel more than 15 minutes before the collision, but apparently not in the moments before the crash.

The NTSB said when it initiated the investigation into the Florida crash that it didn’t expect to look at Autopilot because it didn’t seem that the system had been engaged.

The agency has been looking at how battery fires in electric vehicles can be particularly challenging to emergency responders because they tend to reignite.

In the Florida crash, occurred May 8 in Fort Lauderdale, the driver and front-seat passenger were killed after the Tesla sedan veered off the roadway and into a concrete wall, bursting into flames, local police said. A third passenger was ejected from the car and taken to the hospital.

A Tesla representative declined to comment Tuesday. The company had said that it was working with local authorities and noted that high-speed collisions can result in fire “regardless of the type of car.”

The NTSB, which isn’t the auto-industry regulator but has significant influence over transportation safety, has yet to determine a likely cause of the crash.

According to witnesses, the driver crossed into the left lane to pass another vehicle and lost control as he tried to move back into the right lane.

The car struck a wall in front of a house twice before stopping and bursting into flames, according to the accident report.

—Tim Higgins contributed to this article.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

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