The driver of a Tesla was killed after apparently crashing into a pole and ending up in the yard of a Rolling Hills-area home late Tuesday morning.
The crash was reported about 11:40 a.m. in the 27000 block of Sunnyridge Road, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The car had sheared off a power pole before crashing into a home, and it’s unknown if the Tesla Model 3 was on autopilot, according to Officer Luis Murillo of the California Highway Patrol.
The Fire Department declared the driver, a woman in her 70s, dead at the scene, though residents of the home were not injured.
Officials said the driver struck and knocked down the power pole, before hitting a car in a driveway, pushing that car into the garage of the house.
“The resident was in the house at the time, and the vehicle clearly missed the house and landed in the front bushes, which is a miracle in itself,” said Fire Department spokesperson Henry Narvaez.
Witnesses told KTLA the driver was going downhill very fast when it hit the power pole. One witness said she believes the driver was going 80 to 100 mph.
“I saw her flying, and I even yelled,” neighbor Cindy Yeaman said. “By the time i turned back to go inside of the house, I heard her screech and then the ‘boom, boom, boom.’”
Aerial video from Sky5 showed firefighters still working on the car about an hour after the crash as debris was strewn about the yard of the home. Many in the area lost power after the crash.