The family of a 19-year-old college student who burned to death after being trapped inside a Tesla Cybertruck has claimed the vehicle’s owners have not allowed them access to the car.
Krysta Michelle Tsukahara, a sophomore at Savannah College of Art and Design, was among three victims who perished when the electric vehicle crashed and burst into flames in the early morning hours of November 27, 2024, in Piedmont, California.
Tsukahara did not die on impact, but was trapped in the back of the burning Cybertruck.
Now her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking answers about the horrific Thanksgiving tragedy after being frustrated by lack of access to the mangled Cybertruck.
The lawsuit, filed in Alameda County court, names the estate of driver Soren Dixon, 19, and his grandfather Charles Patterson, who the Cybertruck is registered to – as defendants.
In the filing, the Tsukaharas claim they’ve not had any access to it since the crash occurred.
‘Our clients don’t want to speculate as to who is to blame,’ said attorney Roger Dreyer of Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora in a statement obtained by KRON4.
‘They want answers and additional information in order to see who is accountable for this tragedy and who played a role in their daughter’s death.
Dreyer added: ‘This young woman suffered the most horrifying death one could imagine. Her death was caused by her inability to get out of the car and being consumed in the fire that engulfed the vehicle.’
Krysta Tsukahara, 19, was killed along with two friends in a Tesla Cybertruck crash in Piedmont, east of Oakland
The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration has begun reviewing the fiery Tesla Cybertruck crash that left three local college students dead in Piedmont
Four college students were inside the Cybertruck when it crashed. Three victims – Dixon, Jack Nelson, 20, and Tsukahara – died from smoke inhalation and severe burns, according to autopsy reports.
All three were recent graduates of Piedmont High School who had returned home for Thanksgiving break.
A fourth passenger, 20-year-old Jordan Miller, was the sole survivor after a witness managed to break a window using a tree branch and pull him from the burning wreckage.
‘The family still doesn’t know what the course of events were that evening that led to this crash and why this vehicle caught fire,’ Dreyer said of the tragedy. ‘The family wants and deserves answers to those questions.’
‘Krysta was a beautiful, bright young woman with her whole life ahead of her,’ her father, Carl Tsukahara, wrote in a statement released by attorneys.
‘We’ve had to endure not only the loss of our daughter, and our son the loss of his sister, but we have had to suffer through the silence of those who were with her that night.
‘Our family is seeking additional information regarding all aspects of this tragedy.’
Soren Dixon, 19, was also killed in the Cybertruck crash and was driving the vehicle at the time. He studied at the University of Southern California after graduating Piedmont and all four friends had returned for Thanksgiving
Jack Nelson (pictured) and Dixon were stars on the Piedmont HS lacrosse team and Nelson also played junior varsity football and varsity soccer
Tsukahara was on the school’s golf team and competed around the state
Dixon, who was behind the wheel when the crash occurred at approximately 3 am, had cocaine in his system and a blood alcohol concentration of 0.195 – more than twice the legal limit – according to a coroner’s report.
The California Highway Patrol’s preliminary investigation concluded that a deadly combination of alcohol intoxication, drug impairment and unsafe speeds caused Dixon to lose control of the vehicle.
The lawsuit attempts to uncover more details about what led to the deadly collision and gain access to the Cybertruck for further investigation.
The witness who rescued Miller said he tried to pull Tsukahara through the same window as she clambered from the back seat but couldn’t get her out.
‘I went back to the broken window and yelled for them to try and get out at this window. Krysta tried to come up, sticking her head from the back,’ he told police.
‘I grabbed her arm to try and pull her towards me but she retreated because of the fire.
California Highway Patrol, which led the crash investigation, detailed the desperate efforts of a witness to save the teens moments after impact.
The witness said he was at the same small party the four students were drinking at, and was following them as Dixon drove it to Miller’s house.
Jordan Miller, 20, (left, pictured with his sisters Dylan and Maxine, and parents Samantha and Stephen) survived the crash but was badly burned
Investigators believe speed was a factor in the crash, but are still in the early stages of finding out exactly what happened
He briefly lost sight of the truck as it went around a bend, which a drunk and high-on-cocaine Dixon failed to handle, jumped the curb and crashed into a tree.
Confronted with the wrecked truck, the witness ran to help and smashed the front passenger window by hitting it with a tree branch 10 to 15 times.
‘I saw a car on fire wedged between a wall and a tree. I instantly knew by the tail it was the Cybertruck. [Miller] was barely conscious,’ he told police.
‘He had his seatbelt on and I couldn’t reach it, so I scream at him to undo it. Eventually he was able to unbuckle. I was able to pull him up and out of the window.’
Having rescued Miller, he went back to the car to try saving the others. Tsukahara was sitting behind Miller and closest to the window.
The witness then detailed her harrowing but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to escape.
The fire, which began at the front of the truck, was spreading across the vehicle though Miller’s seat toward Tsukahara, so he tried to get through her window.
‘I then grabbed the stick again and began to break the right rear window. I was able to break and pull the window from its frame but once I got in, the fire had made its way throughout the entire car,’ he told police.
