(Translated from German)
Fatal Tesla accident
Helper couldn't get the door open: "I wanted to pull the children out"
From t-online, Aj
Updated on 10.09.2025 - 07:17 o'clock
 
The scene of the accident in Schwerte: A nine-year-old child was able to save himself from the flames. (Source: NonstopNews / Max Lametz)
A resident hears screams and sees a burning Tesla. There is no rescue for three occupants, including two children.
A man and two children were fatally injured in a serious traffic accident in Schwerte in North Rhine-Westphalia on Sunday. After the accident, an eyewitness ran to the burning car - a Tesla - with a fire extinguisher and tried to help. But his efforts were in vain.
As Roman Jedrzejewski told the "Ruhr Nachrichten", he was unable to extinguish the fire or open the car. "I still wanted to save people," he told the portal. "I tried to open the car, but that didn't work either. It was already so hot from the fire, but the right side of the car was still relatively unscathed. Damn, I didn't help. It didn't work," says Jedrzejewski.
"I wanted to pull the children out after all"
The accident occurred on Sunday around 2 p.m. on a country road. A 57-year-old Tesla driver started to overtake a Skoda and lost control of his vehicle. The Tesla skidded, crashed into a tree and immediately caught fire.
According to the report, Jedrzejewski runs a paint shop diagonally opposite the accident site. He heard loud brake noises and then a bang and immediately thought of an explosion. "The car was half hanging in a tree at head height and was on fire at the front. But they just couldn't get it open, I wanted to pull the children out after all," said the eyewitness.
The car burned out completely
The fire brigade later also had considerable problems extinguishing the fire due to the repeated flare-ups of flames. The car finally burned out completely. Firefighters also had to remove a tree from the roadway that had fallen over from the impact. Firefighters were at the scene of the accident until late in the evening.
In the car were a 57-year-old and three nine-year-old children. One of the children, according to t-online information the man's son, was able to save himself from the flames. But for the man and the other two children, any help came too late: they burned to death in the Tesla. The police did not provide any information on the relationship between the three people.
The injured child was taken to a clinic by rescue helicopter. Family members and police officers were in shock. They were cared for by emergency chaplains.
According to the ADAC, retractable door handles, as on various models from Tesla and other vehicle manufacturers, can pose a safety risk in an emergency. While they are trendy for design and aerodynamic reasons, they can make it much more difficult to rescue occupants quickly after accidents. The ADAC warns that electrically extendable handles are no longer accessible, especially in the event of power outages after an accident - with potentially fatal consequences, for example in the event of vehicle fires. |
