A fatal Tesla crash on the FDR Drive in the Upper East Side left the driver dead and the passenger injured, causing a prolonged road closure. The white Tesla, traveling at high speed northbound, collided with a guardrail near the 71st Street exit around 3 a.m., igniting into flames. Both occupants were ejected from the vehicle.
The female driver was pronounced dead at the scene, while the 26-year-old male passenger was transported to New York-Presbyterian Hospital – Cornell Burn Unit, where he has been stabilized. Following an hours long closure at 61st Street, northbound traffic resumed with delays just before 8:30 a.m. Southbound lanes reopened around 7:30 a.m. after traffic was temporarily diverted at 96th Street.
Witnesses reported seeing a northbound car speeding past them before crashing. “He was going at least 120 to 130 mph at least. When he hit the other car, the impact was so severe that it split in half, then caught fire,” a witness told Eyewitness News.
Firefighters worked to extinguish a persistent e-battery fire in the Tesla. The vehicle will be loaded onto a tow truck, with firefighters following it to the impound lot to monitor for potential flareups.
