Fatal Tesla crash ignited the car’s battery cells that caused a fire, fire officials say

The fatal Tesla crash which resulted in the deaths of two men may have started after a ‘significant front-end collision’ ignited the battery, fire officials have said. 

Dr. William Varner, 59, and Everette Talbot, 69, both died when the Tesla Model S smashed into a tree and burst into flames in Texas on April 17. 

Police had said it was apparent that there was no one in the driver’s seat at the time of the crash in the wealthy The Woodlands neighborhood, Houston. 

On Monday, Tesla refuted police’s claims, saying a deformed steering wheel suggested that someone was likely in the driver´s seat.

Now the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office’s report has revealed more details as to how the flames took hold. 

It also reiterates local police’s assertion that no one was in the driver’s seat. The report classifies the crash as accidental. 

Investigator Chris Johnson states that the fire was caused by the collision. The report did not note the car’s speed or whether air bags and seat belts were used. 

Tesla has not commented. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are both investigating. 

The report states: ‘There were signs of extensive mechanical damage caused by a front end collision, and the front end of the vehicle was in direct contact with the trunk of a large tree.

It also details how the vehicle’s ‘hood, front doors, front body panels, forward support pillars, trunk and roof were completely destroyed’.

Talbot was seated ‘in a forward-leaning position, with both arms rolled forward’, according to the report; Varner was ‘in a rear-leaning position, with both arms rolled back and in a pugilistic pose.’ 

And it adds: ‘Multiple fire patterns produced by both the movement and intensity of the fire indicate that the fire originated from the vehicle’s power distribution system and related components located at the front end of the vehicle.’

‘Any extensive damage to the battery, the power distribution systems, or the systems associated with battery cell temp regulation can result in electrical arcing and/or thermal runaway of the lithium-ion cells, which are both competent source of ignition. 

‘The vehicle sustained a significant front end collision which damaged one, or many of these systems, leading to the development of fire within with the vehicle.

The report states: ‘I did not determine the specific vehicle component(s) or system(s) that provided the first heat source.

‘I did rule out any scenario not specifically related to the motor vehicle collision causing ignition of the vehicle and immediate or subsequently resulting battery fire.’

The U.S. safety board said Wednesday it is working to publish as soon as possible a preliminary report on the crash.     

‘A preliminary report typically comes out in a month, but we are working hard to get it out as soon as possible because we recognize there is this confusion out there,’ Kristin Poland, Deputy Director at National Transportation Safety Board said. 

Varner’s Model S crashed into trees just a few hundred yards from his $2million home in the gated community of Carlton Woods Creekside. 

Talbot is said to have been found in the front passenger seat; the car’s owner, Varner, in the back seat. Police said it was apparent that there was no one in the driver’s seat at the time of the crash.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in the crash’s immediate aftermath data downloaded by Tesla indicate the vehicle was not operating on Autopilot, its semi-autonomous driving system.

Then on Monday, Tesla had again refuted police’s claims, saying a deformed steering wheel suggested that someone was likely in the driver´s seat.

‘We recognize that that´s not an ideal circumstance,’ Poland said, referring to public confusion over what happened during the accident. 

‘The sooner we can get out the preliminary report out the better it will be for everybody to provide as much clarity as possible,’ she said, saying the report will be based on solid facts.

She declined to discuss any findings so far, saying that the probe is under way.

‘We have a very, very experienced investigators that are doing this. It is not like the first time out,’ the veteran NTSB official said.

The NTSB has criticized Tesla’s Autopilot after a series of investigations into fatal crashes, including a lack of adequate driver monitoring systems. 

The Autopilot system handles some driving tasks such as keeping lanes and maintaining distances between cars, but experts say the term ‘Autopilot’ can be misleading consumers to believe that the car can drive by itself. 

Tesla says its features ‘require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous.’

To engage Tesla’s autopilot, the car must think someone is at the wheel by detecting the weight of their hands on the steering wheel. If it doesn’t, it’ll stop but it can take up to 30 seconds for it to do so. 

Autopilot must detect road markings before it can be enabled, according to Tesla. There are no markings on the private road they were on.