--- title: "Four Passengers Die in Burning Tesla After Electronic Doors Seemingly Won’t Open" description: "Four people died after a Tesla crashed and burst into flames, while a fifth person narrowly escaped after a bystander broke open a window." date: "2024-11-12" modified: "2024-11-12" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/four-die-trapped-burning-tesla" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "evs" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Four Passengers Die in Burning Tesla After Electronic Doors Seemingly Won’t Open ![Four people died after a Tesla crashed and burst into flames, while a fifth person narrowly escaped after a bystander broke open a window.]() *\Image: Smith Collection / Gado via Getty\* ## Horrific End Four people were killed in Toronto after the [Tesla]() they were riding in crashed into a pillar and burst into flames. A fifth rider, an unidentified woman in her twenties, narrowly survived the crash after a bystander smashed open a window, allowing her to escape the burning vehicle. According to the heroic bystander's account, the Tesla Model Y's electronic doors may have been at fault for why the passengers were trapped inside the electric vehicle. "You couldn't open the doors," the rescuer, Rick Harper, [told the *Toronto Star*]() in a new interview. "I would assume the young lady would have tried to open the door from the inside, because she was pretty desperate to get out." Harper added that he didn't realize there were others trapped inside because the smoke was so thick. "I don't know if that was the battery or what," Harper said. "But she couldn't get out." ## Death Trap Police said the crash, which took place on October 24, occurred after the driver lost control of the vehicle, struck a guardrail, and then slammed into a pillar, [per the *CBC*](), catching fire upon impact. Authorities are still investigating the crash and fire. But the details that we have so far implicate to some degree the electronic doors used by Tesla and other automakers, which require power to open. The Elon Musk-owned automaker has a [troubling history]() of owners getting [locked in their cars]() without power. Some of these cases may be down to user error, since most Teslas come with manual release levers. However, these emergency measures have been [criticized for being poorly designed]() and [unintuitively placed]() for certain models, often requiring intimate knowledge of the car — something that most owners, let alone a passenger in a panic, aren't likely to have. Moreover, with the Model Y in particular, not all vehicles come with manual releases for the rear doors, [as Tesla warns in the car's manual](). It's unclear if the Model Y involved in the crash was equipped with the emergency feature. ## Fire Hazard This isn't the first time that occupants have died after being allegedly trapped in a Tesla. In 2019, a father of five was burned alive in his Model S after the car's auto-retracting door handles failed to deploy, his family [alleged in a lawsuit](), preventing bystanders and first responders from setting him free from the intense blaze. Another driver [nearly suffered the same fate]() in 2021. When his Tesla Model S caught fire, he claimed he was briefly stuck inside due to the vehicle's malfunctioning high tech door handles, though he eventually managed to escape. Considering that EV battery fires are [some of the most formidable out there]() and often take tens of thousands of gallons of water and hours of work to extinguish, a reliable way of getting out of one of these vehicles in a pinch is the least you could ask for. **More on Tesla:** *[Tesla Software Update Traps Owner's Car in Narrow Alleyway]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()