Despite the fact that internal combustion-powered cars have been catching fire for decades, electric vehicles have recently received a bad wrap for spontaneously combusting — which is never a good thing.
One Tesla driver over in America took this to the next level when he hit a tree in his Model 3 doing in excess of 160km/h, sending debris hundreds of feet from the initial crash site.
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According to a local police report, the Model 3 mowed down a power poll and two trees before coming to rest against a telephone box, leaving the Tesla a mangled wreck of twisted metal.
Some of the details released in the report are simply astounding, hinting at the fact that the EV might have been travelling closer to 200km/h when the driver lost control.
"The damage from the collision caused the batteries from the Tesla to enter two different residences by breaking through the windows, one landing on a person’s lap and the second landing on a bed, catching the bedding on fire," wrote the City of Corvallis Police Department.
"A tire was ripped from the car during the collision and struck the second story siding of a nearby apartment complex with such force that it ruptured the water pipes within the wall, destroying the bathroom to the apartment and flooding the downstairs portion of the apartment as well."
It took local police and fire crews around three hours to collect all the scattered battery cells and completely clean the scene. A warning has also been issued to the public stating that they should stay away from any cells that they may find.
Incredibly, the driver managed to flee on foot following the incident, but was found by local authorities three blocks away. It was reported that he was under the influence of cannabis, and charged with DUI, Hit and Run, Reckless Driving, Reckless Endangering, and Criminal Mischief.