AZFamily 5 – Toddler trapped in car when Tesla battery dies in Scottsdale
Editors note: trusting Tesla to create a safe robotaxi system is ludicrous. Their existing safety systems didn’t prevent this near tragedy from happening. And great quote about Tesla: “When it works it is great. When it doesn’t it is deadly”
See original article and video by Colin Stanton and Gary Harper at AZFamily 5
SCOTTSDALE, AZ (AZFamily) — Renee Sanchez says she’s a big fan of Tesla, but what happened to her recently has changed her mind.
The Scottsdale grandmother tells On Your Side that she loaded her 20-month-old granddaughter into her car seat for a trip to the Phoenix Zoo.
“And I closed the door, went around the car, get in the front seat, and my car was dead,” she said. “I could not get in. My phone key wouldn’t open it. My card key wouldn’t open it.”
As On Your Side explained in a recent report, when the Tesla battery that operates electronics dies, a hidden latch on the driver’s side armrest will manually unlock the door. Many Tesla owners don’t know about this latch.
But in this case, Sanchez was stuck outside of her Tesla while the toddler was trapped inside, buckled into a car seat.
Sanchez tells On Your Side she had no option but to call 911, which immediately sent out Scottsdale firefighters.
“And when they got here, the first thing they said was, ‘Uggh, it’s a Tesla. We can’t get in these cars,’” she said. “And I said, ‘I don’t care if you have to cut my car in half. Just get her out.’”
Firefighters were forced to break a window with an axe, but they first covered the window with tape to keep the glass from flying.
Meanwhile, Sanchez’s granddaughter sat alone inside the Tesla, which was getting hotter and hotter.
“She was OK for the first few minutes,” Sanchez said. “But as soon as the firemen came and all the commotion started and the windows getting broken into, she started crying because she was scared.”
A firefighter climbed through the window and pulled the little girl free. They even gave her a little fire hat to calm her down.
“After I knew she was safe, then the anger,” she said. “Then, all the thoughts of, oh my God, this could have been so much worse.”
The 12-volt battery that powers the car’s electronics died without warning.
Tesla drivers are supposed to receive three warnings before that happens, but the Tesla service department confirmed that Sanchez didn’t receive any warnings.
“When that battery goes, you’re dead in the water,” she said.
On Your Side has learned there is a way for drivers to unlock their cars when they’re stuck outside, but it’s a complicated series of time-consuming steps involving wires and battery chargers.
But again, many Tesla owners and first responders don’t know about it.
“They need to educate the first responders because they had no idea,” Sanchez said. “They were as much in the dark as I was.”
Sanchez wants to see Tesla add a better option to get into a car with a dead battery.
And while she has been a big supporter of the company, this latest episode has shaken her faith.
“I give Tesla props. When it works, it’s great. But when it doesn’t, it can be deadly,” Sanchez said.
From the Tesla manual, click/tap here to see how to open the doors with no power.
Click/tap here for information on how to open the hood with no power.
See original article and video by Colin Stanton and Gary Harper at AZFamily 5
