Tesla traveling wrong way on highway leads to Bastrop Co. crash that killed 3: DPS
BASTROP COUNTY, Texas - Three people are dead after a crash involving a Tesla that was traveling the wrong way down a Bastrop County highway, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
State Highway 71 crash
What we know:
Texas DPS says that troopers responded to a deadly crash on State Highway 71, near McAllister Road, in the early morning hours of Saturday, May 10.
Investigators say shortly before 2:30 a.m., a 2022 Tesla passenger car was traveling west in the eastbound lanes of the highway. The Tesla struck the passenger side of a 2010 Nissan Sentra.
The Nissan attempted to swerve out of the way of the Tesla, but the vehicle also veered left, leading to the crash.
Chloe Rios, 18, and Ja Michael Houston, 20, of Smithville were both in the Nissan at the time of the crash. They were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
The driver of the Tesla, 33-year-old Zaldivar Espinosa of Austin, was taken to the hospital where he later died.
Espinosa was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, according to DPS.
What we don't know:
The crash remains under investigation.
Texas DPS has not speculated as to why Espinosa was driving on the wrong side of the road.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Texas Department of Public Safety.