Getting hit in a head-on crash is nasty enough to deal with. But now imagine your own car then starting to accelerate out of nowhere, ramming the other driver and nearly putting you in a ditch. It sounds wild, but that’s exactly what one man says happened to his Tesla Model 3 when it was hit by a Jeep earlier this month.
Radu Stefan was driving his Tesla Model 3 towards the intersection of Lee Canyon Road and Deer Creek Road in Nevada on July 7. As he approached, a white 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon rounded the corner at high speed, visibly out of control. The Jeep understeered, winding up in Radu’s lane and slamming hard into the front of his vehicle.
You might have expected both parties to stop and assess the damage. Instead, Radu told media that his vehicle malfunctioned immediately after the impact, driving itself forward in an erratic, uncontrolled fashion. In the video we see the Tesla lurches forward, ramming the Jeep before it narrowly avoids veering off the road. “It was like a horror movie,” Stefan told KSNV News 3. As his vehicle lurched away from the crash, it nearly climbed an incline, then veered towards a steep drop-off on the side of the road.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoP7sGVyD0g
Stefan says he was only able to stop the vehicle by repeatedly pumping the brakes. After he regained control, he reversed back to the intersection where the initial impact occurred. However, upon returning to the scene, he said, he found the Jeep had left.
The incident has left Stefan severely out of pocket. He told News 3 that the repair bill for his vehicle is in the realm of $15,000 to $20,000. With only liability coverage on his vehicle, his insurance will not cover the repairs, he told the news site.
As shown in his YouTube video description, Stefan is presently seeking the help of the community to track down the owners of the Jeep involved in the crash. The occupants of the Jeep are readily visible in the captured footage. However, the Jeep had no front plate, and the cameras on Stefan’s Tesla didn’t capture a clear shot of the rear.
Nevada law requires most vehicles to display both front and rear plates at all times, barring trailers and motorcycles. The only exception is for vehicles that were not designed for a front plate. The Jeep Wrangler does not fit under this exception, though it’s unclear where the vehicle was registered.
The owner, Radu Stefan, tells me the car malfunctioned after the crash and started driving. There is extensive damage to the front.
He was able to stop the car by pumping the breaks, but it veered off the road. He says by the time he had control, the Jeep drove away. pic.twitter.com/dXBQFbP3Ps
— Cristen Drummond (@CristenDrummond) July 13, 2024
The video has led to widespread speculation on Twitter and beyond. Some allege that the Tesla didn’t malfunction, and that instead, Stefan may have accidentally pressed the throttle instead of the brake. It’s worth noting that Tesla has dealt with unintended acceleration cases before. Barring the recent kerfuffle with the Cybertruck, the NHTSA has previously determined most are the result of user error, not a malfunction. With that said, the agency did recently reopen its investigation concerning sudden unintended acceleration in Tesla vehicles in June last year.
As for the Jeep driver, their identity remains a mystery. Some contemplated the driver fled out of guilt, others suggesting it was out of fear after the Tesla rammed the Jeep. In any case, it appears the driver has yet to come forward to authorities at this stage. The Autopian has contacted Stefan and Nevada State Police for information as to the current state of the matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QelUNk39hDg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R0XtWEJqrU
Stefan’s Tesla captured the incident from multiple angles.
Ultimately, this was clearly a harrowing and confusing crash for all involved. A head-on collision is ugly enough without all the ramming and shoving afterwards. Stefan was also lucky to not end up with his Tesla rolling down an embankment immediately afterwards. Here’s hoping the Jeep owner identifies themselves so this matter can be brought to a swift and proper close.
Image credits: Radu Stefan via YouTube screenshot