More details revealed on rescue attempt
The California Highway Patrol has released its accident report on the Nov. 27 Cybertruck crash that killed three Piedmont High School graduates and injured a fourth.
The report includes a witness statement from the man who pulled the survivor out of the burning vehicle. The driver, along with a passenger, was following the Cybertruck just prior to the accident. They were the first people on the scene on Hampton Road between Sea View and King avenues.
Soren Dixon, who was driving, Jack Nelson and Krysta Tsukahara were killed in the crash. Jordan Miller was injured but rescued by the witness. The Exedra is not naming the witness.
The witness made an initial statement on scene and then a second statement to investigators through his lawyer. The other witness provided a similar account on scene.
“I stopped at Hampton and Sea View and when I turned the corner I saw a car on fire wedged between a wall and a tree,” the driver of the other vehicle said. “I instantly knew by the tail it was the Cybertruck.”
The witness said he parked and ran to the burning vehicle. The front passenger side door was damaged and the witness said he attempted to pry the door open with his fingers but could not do it. He then attempted to open the door with the “button” that serves as a door handle. He then tried the button on the rear side passenger door. Neither button worked. He reported the other side of the vehicle was blocked as it was alongside a cement wall. He returned to the front side passenger door.
“I attempted to punch the window to no avail,” the witness said. “I then looked around and grabbed a branch, four-five feet long and 1/3 foot in diameter. I used it to bash the window, it took 10-15 hits of the window to crack completely and the top right corner to pop out of its frame. I then grabbed the window and pulled it out of the frame.”
Miller was sitting in the front passenger side seat. Tsukahara was in the rear passenger side seat.
“At first my view was obstructed by an airbag, I pulled it out of the way to gain access to Jordan. He was barely conscious, only moaning and groaning, he had his seatbelt on and I couldn’t reach it so I scream at him to undo it, eventually he was able to unbuckle and I was able to pull him up and out of the window.”
The witness said he returned to the front passenger side door. He said Tsukahara had been yelling from the rear seat and tried to come to the broken front door window.
“I grabbed her arm to try and pull her towards me but she retreated because of the fire,” the witness said. “I then grabbed the stick again and began to break the right rear window. I was able to break and pull the window from its frame but once I got in, the fire had made its way throughout the entire car to the point where I couldn’t even stand by the car.”
The witness said police arrived at that moment and ordered him to stay away from the burning vehicle for his safety.
The Alameda County Coroner’s report determined that Dixon, Nelson and Tsukahara all had alcohol and cocaine in their systems at the time of death. The CHP concluded that a combination of of alcohol and drugs and unsafe speed were contributing factors causing the crash.
The Coroner’s office report said all three victims died of smoke inhalation with the thermal injuries contributing. No mention was made of any role of the impact of the collision in the deaths.