Four people died on Saturday evening in the accident of a Tesla electric car, which caught fire on a departmental road in Deux-Sèvres.
The accident occurred for a “undetermined reason“, according to Captain Olivier Toulon, number two of the Niort gendarmerie company.”The Niort public prosecutor’s office requested a forensic examination of the vehicle as well as an autopsy of the victims.“.
The four people in the vehicle were “already dead when help arrived“, specified the gendarmerie. The accident occurred around 10:45 p.m. Saturday evening near Melle, about twenty kilometers east of Niort.
Among the victims, three young men were employees of the Argentière restaurant in Melle, said another source close to the gendarmerie. They were aged 16, 21 and 27. The 4th victim, aged around sixty, is the owner of the vehicle, but also a friend of the restaurant owner. According to this same source, the latter is in shock.
According to the first elements of the investigation, the driver lost control of the vehicle before hitting a road sign. It was when he finished his race that he caught fire.
Now investigators are seeking to determine the technical reasons that may have led to this accident, a job that could be difficult due to the state of the vehicle. They must also carry out an autopsy and DNA tests to clearly establish the identity of the bodies, and in particular determine the person who was behind the wheel.
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