ONE Tesla stuck one toddler inside Because the 12-volt battery ran out this week, Arizona firefighters had to come save the child’s life.
The incident happened in Scottsdale, Arizona, where temperatures reached more than 100 degrees all week. Renee Sanchez and her 20-month-old granddaughter are on their way to the Phoenix Zoo. Sanchez said that after she put her niece in a child seat, closed the door of the Model Y and got into the driver’s seat, she discovered her Tesla’s door wouldn’t open. Sanchez said she tried everything to get into the car but the door could not open. From Arizona family:
“And I closed the door, walked around the car, got in the front seat and my car died,” she said. “I can not come in. My phone key won’t open. My card key can’t open it.”
As On Your Side explained in a recent report, when the Tesla battery that operates the electronics dies, a hidden pin on the driver’s side armrest manually unlocks the doors. Many Tesla owners do not know about this latch.
But in this case, Sanchez is stuck outside of her. Tesla while the toddler was trapped inside, strapped into his car seat.
Sanchez told On Your Side she had no choice but to call 911, which immediately dispatched Scottsdale firefighters.
“And when they get here, the first thing they say is, ‘Oh, that’s a Tesla. We can’t get in these cars,’” she said. “And I said, ‘I don’t care if you have to cut my car in half. Just take her out.”
It turns out the Tesla’s 12-volt battery was dead, leaving the car a giant brick. We have seen this happened before. When this happens, yes an emergency switch It seems that not many people know about the location near the driver’s side armrest to open the door. However, in this case, that latch won’t help; Sanchez was outside the car and there was no way a toddler would know how to open the emergency latch.
Knowing the temperature inside the Tesla was rising rapidly, Sanchez called the fire department:
Firefighters were forced to use axes to break the window, but first they covered the window with tape to keep the glass from flying out. “She was fine for the first few minutes,” Sanchez said. “But as soon as the firefighters arrived and all the chaos started and the windows were smashed, she started crying out of fear.”
A firefighter climbed through the window and pulled the girl out. They even gave her a small fire helmet to help calm her down.
Sanchez is grateful that firefighters were able to get her niece out. However, she said brands need to do a better job of explaining to people what to do in situations like this. “They need to educate first responders because they don’t know anything,” Sanchez said. “They are as much in the dark as I am.”
There is a way to start the Tesla from the outside, but it’s too difficult complex tap It would not make sense to do so in a situation where a child is trapped inside. As for Sanchez and her Tesla, she says she’s a fan of the brand, but told AZ Family that this latest episode has shaken her faith.
Unfortunately, children suffocating to death in cars is a very real risk, especially in the hot, sunny Southwestern United States. Around this time last year three children died in three separate incidents left in hot cars. On average, 37 children die in hot cars each year. Consumer Reports report.
