Thursday afternoon just got much more interesting—in the worst way possible. At about 4:30 p.m., an enormous crane being changed by a construction crew failed a section and dropped onto the Southeast Third Avenue Bridge.
Directly under it was a Tesla Model Y driven by nearby resident Mark Cerezie. The falling metal crushed its front end, and Cerezie was highly fortunate to be able to start the door and sprint away afterward. He explained, “I felt a compression, glanced up, and saw this vast chunk of blue metal falling. I slammed the brakes, and it struck the front of my car.”
A huge crane fell on this man’s Tesla while he was in it and miraculously he was unharmed. PIC.TWITTER.COM/TAZ1KY7RFM
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) APRIL 6, 2024
Police and Fire Rescue units from Fort Lauderdale arrived soon after. Amid the twisted metal and rubble, they found a hole in the bridge, a crushed minivan, and a Tesla car that had been ruined beyond recognition. The Chief of Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, Stephen Gollan, revealed the explanation behind the accident.
“My understanding from the construction company is that they were doing a process at the time called stepping the crane. The crane did not fail, but it was a platform with equipment that failed at the time of the incident,” said Gollan.
Eyewitnesses could not believe their eyes. One of the residents who lives in a building located just across the street from the construction site told 7News about the horrifying moment the crane fell and the consequences of the event.
This case showed the durability of our Tesla Model Y. Although the front part, on the side of the impact, got squashed completely, the drive-in was not affected, and he could leave the car unassisted. This case proves that the vehicle on this matter was designed in the most preeminent way to avoid injuries.
Overall, safety is at the core of Tesla’s design philosophy. Tesla cars have sophisticated active and passive safety systems and perform well in critical global safety crash tests. This design ethos helps ensure the car’s structure is robust enough to absorb impact energy and protect both the battery pack and the passenger compartment, which helped Cerezie walk away unscathed.
This incident has also left a long-lasting emotional scar on the community. It was a relief that Cerezie suffered no injuries but a tragic reminder of the dangers of construction zones and the associated risks. As the authorities are still investigating the incident, many community members hope there will soon be answers and reassurances that such a terrible but improbable fluke will not recur.
