Toronto: A midnight crash on Toronto's Lake Shore Boulevard left four persons dead and one critically injured after a Tesla veered off course and was gutted in a fatal fire. The victims, including siblings Ketaba and Nil Gohil from Gujarat, were travelling with Jairaj Singh Sisodia and Digvijay Patel. The incident occurred as the car collided with a guardrail and subsequently slammed into 2 concrete pillars, sparking a catastrophic fire likely fueled by the Tesla's battery cells, according to Toronto Police and Fire officials.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene, with flames towering up to 30 feet and smoke visible across the river. Duty Inspector Phillip Sinclair reported that excessive speed was a probable factor in the crash. The collision was severe enough that one of the Tesla’s battery cells was ejected requiring special disposal to mitigate the risk of future combustion.
A Woman Survives
A woman in her 20s, the lone survivor, was reportedly rescued by a passing motorist who braved the flames to pull her from the burning car. She was taken to hospital with serious, yet non-life-threatening injuries. Authorities are treating the bystander as a crucial witness to the tragedy, with Sinclair noting the psychological toll this harrowing experience may have on the rescuer.
This accident adds to a troubling pattern of fatalities involving Indian nationals in Canada. In July, three Punjabi students were killed in another car accident, highlighting road safety concerns among immigrant communities. The specific cause of Thursday’s fire is under investigation, with police yet to confirm if the Tesla involved was a self-driving model. The battery-fueled fire has prompted calls for further scrutiny of electric vehicle safety, given the intense fire suppression demands required by their battery cells.
Toronto Fire Deputy Chief Jim Jessop explained that extinguishing EV fires can require “exponentially more water” due to the heat-intensive nature of lithium-ion batteries. Although he stopped short of attributing fault to the Tesla’s battery, Jessop acknowledged the unique hazards that EVs pose to first responders and described ongoing efforts by Toronto Fire to develop protocols for such incidents.
