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Report: 20-year-old Tesla driver lost scholarship before fiery crash

Federal investigators say the driver learned he lost the scholarship just hours before the crash. His speed was triple the limit before he lost control of the car.
Credit: AP
This image provided by the National Transportation Safety Board shows damage to a 2021 Tesla Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor electric car following a crash in September 2021, in Coral Gables, Fla.

MIAMI — A 20-year-old Tesla driver who died with a passenger in a fiery, high-speed crash on a residential South Florida street last year might have been upset after learning he had lost a scholarship, federal investigators said.

The National Transportation Safety Board released new documents Tuesday saying the driver of the 2021 Model 3 sedan had learned several hours before the Sept. 13, 2021 crash that he had lost a scholarship at Florida International University. The school's main campus is located just west of Miami.

RELATED: Tesla driver killed in fiery crash hit 90 mph, report says

The driver's friends and family told investigators that he didn't seem unusually perturbed about the scholarship, according to the NTSB report. But his passenger, a 19-year-old woman, texted her mother shortly before the crash that the driver was upset about the scholarship and that she was trying to make him feel better.

The crash occurred after the driver accelerated to 90 mph (145 kph) through a Coral Gables intersection to beat a yellow light on a residential street, his speed tripling the 30 mph (49 kph) limit, investigators said. The driver had owned the car for about six days before the crash.

The driver lost control as he cleared the intersection and veered left onto the median, where the Tesla glanced off one large tree before smashing its passenger's side door into a second, the NTSB said. The driver never hit the brake, a report said, citing five seconds of data recovered from the car's severely damaged event recorder.

The crash damaged the Tesla's high-voltage lithium-ion battery and the car erupted into flames, killing the driver and passenger.

Tesla vehicles do not use gasoline, which could raise the risk of a big fire after a crash, but the company’s guidance to first responders includes a warning about lithium-ion battery fires. Tesla representatives have said high-speed collisions can result in a fire for any kind of car.

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