One Tesla driver in New Zealand was lucky to escape an extremely close call on a one-lane bridge that left his Model 3 a wreck, and resulted in a bus being stolen by a driver reportedly high on meth.
According to a video that was uploaded to just a couple of days ago, Steve Withers was driving from Opotiki to Te Araroa with his daughter in his EV when he entered a one-lane bridge.
In the description of the YouTube video, Withers describes an incredible story that starts with a destroyed Tesla, and ends with a broken bus and a whole lot of people in pursuit.
Footage from the incident shows that the bridge was clear when Withers got on, but a Ford Falcon heading in the other direction soon gets on the bridge as well, and shows no signs of slowing down.
Withers managed to move his Tesla to the right of the bridge, but the Ford barely hesitated and blasted right past, taking the majority of the Tesla's right side with it.
After sideswiping the Tesla, the other driver reportedly got out of the car, and proceeded to flee on foot, while Withers assessed the damage. He then called the police, and waited for a response.
After hitching a ride towards better phone coverage with a local, the two spot a bus screeching out of a dusty driveway at a serious pace with a man on a quad bike in pursuit. It turns out that the Ford's driver from earlier had run across a paddock and stolen the farmer's bus, so naturally, he gave chase.
With a total of three vehicles in pursuit, including the local cop, the bus was driven into a paddock where it got immediately bogged down. The driver jumped out of the bus, and attempted to flee on foot, but was promptly tackled and arrested.
Last Withers heard of the driver was that he was taken to Whakatane to be charged, and was high on meth throughout this whole ordeal. As for the Tesla, Withers thinks that it'll be a complete write-off, but plans to order a 2020 Model 3 Long Range immediately.