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After a crash killed her two friends, a California college student was burned alive when a Tesla Cybertruck turned into deathtrap and “entombed” her inside as the vehicle went up in flames.
On Nov. 27, 2024, Krysta Tsukahara, 19, was riding in a Tesla Cybertruck with three of her friends when it slammed into a retaining wall and caught fire.
“Officers arrived on the scene to find a single vehicle fully engulfed in flames. Tragically, this collision resulted in multiple fatalities,” Piedmont Police Department shared in a Facebook post.
Krysta, 19, driver Soren Dixon, 19, and passenger Jack Nelson, 20 – all recent graduates of Piedmont High School – had returned home for Thanksgiving break.
The three victims were trapped inside as the fire spread, unable to escape.
The only survivor, Jordan Miller, was pulled from the burning Cybertruck by a friend driving behind them, who smashed a window with a tree branch 10 to 15 times until it finally cracked. He managed to drag a “barely conscious” Miller out of the passenger seat –moments before flames consumed the rest of the vehicle.
According to KTVU, Dixon – who was operating the vehicle – was found to have meth and cocaine in his system and a blood alcohol level of 0.195 – more than twice the legal limit. Autopsy reports revealed that Tsukahara and Nelson each tested positive for alcohol and cocaine.
Unable to escape
Krysta – a second-year student at Savannah College of Art and Design – survived the initial crash with only minor injuries.
According to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by her parents, Krysta was unable to escape the locked car and died from smoke inhalation and severe burns – enduring what they describe as “unimaginable pain and emotional distress.”
“She attempted to get out of the subject vehicle through efforts of a person who was attempting to extract her through the front passenger window due to the failure of the electrical system of the Tesla Cybertruck. She was unable to open her door due to this electrical failure, as was the Good Samaritan who was attempting to rescue her,” the lawsuit claims, according to Fox Business. “Krysta Michelle Tsukahara was then pushed back by fire and heat and unable to be extracted from the TeslaCybertruck,” the document explains, adding that she died “from smoke inhalation and thermal injuries.”