West Vancouver police are investigating the sudden acceleration of a Tesla that resulted in the vehicle slamming into a B.C. Ferries ramp at Horseshoe Bay terminal, causing it to break in two last Saturday.
Sgt. Mark McLean, a spokesperson for West Vancouver Police Department, told Glacier Media the driver and passenger were both taken to hospital for non-life threatening injuries and are co-operating with the investigation.
“It looks like it was trying to board a ferry and suddenly accelerated into the gate, basically destroying the Tesla,” McLean said.
Paramedics took the passengers to the hospital.
Police don’t yet know what caused the crash, but McLean said it doesn’t appear alcohol was a factor. An investigation will determine it was driver error or a mechanical issue with the car.
A photo of the aftermath shows the Tesla on an upper car ramp, its front left wheel detached and airbags deployed.
B.C. Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall said the incident occurred at a closed gate at one of the berths.
“There was no vessel in the berth at the time of the incident,” she said. “The vehicle was not attempting to board a ferry.”
Due to damage to the gate, the berth was closed for the remainder of the day, Marshall said.
Typically, in order for a vehicle to get to the ferry ramps it would have to have been authorized to board a ferry. It is unclear whether the vehicle was intending to board at another ramp.
In January 2021, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded an investigation of sudden accelerations of Tesla vehicles, finding driver error to be the source.
“More than 200 incidents involving Teslas unexpectedly accelerating and crashing were the fault of drivers confusing their brake and accelerator pedals, not a defect with the electric vehicles,” reported the Washington Post.
