Tesla driver who went airborne in fatal Southern California crash identified

The 37-year-old man who was driving a Tesla Model 3 at excessive speed that caused a fatal multi-vehicle crash in Huntington Beach was identified by authorities on Wednesday.

The driver of the Tesla, who was the only fatality in Tuesday’s crash, has been identified as Huntington Beach resident Ryan Mark Larson by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Dashcam video captured the Tesla going airborne as Larson lost control and flipped a car in the opposite direction on Heil Avenue at Goldenwest Street around 2:45 p.m.

Officers arrived to find seven vehicles involved in the accident, including the Tesla, which had rolled several times before coming to rest just east of the intersection, according to the Huntington Beach Police Department.

Larson was pronounced dead at the scene.

A driver who was with his young son inside a minivan that was also heavily damaged in the accident can be heard in a separate video checking on his son.

“Malcom, are you okay?” asks the father. The boy answers, “Yes,” before the driver describes what happened: “A car just crashed head-on into the corner of our car,” he says, choking up.

Police said the Tesla was traveling at a “high rate of speed”, but did not estimate how fast it was going. A witness at the scene believed he was traveling about 100 mph.

George Spaulding, who was waiting at a red light, said he saw the car speeding towards him.

“We saw a car fly down the road and our light had just turned green and we were ready to go,” recalled Spaulding. “The car cut across the lanes, went onto our side of the lane and just went up and hit this dip right here. It caught air, lost control and overturned.”

Three people were transported to the hospital. Authorities have confirmed that two Orange County probation officers were injured after their vehicle was struck.

On Wednesday morning, the Orange County Probation Department said both officers were recovering. “One officer was medically cleared at the scene, while a second officer was treated and released from the hospital,” officials said.

The Police said that the cause of the crash is still under investigation, and it is not clear if drugs or alcohol were a factor. It was also unclear whether Tesla’s Autopilot or Full Self-Driving was engaged.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or the events leading up to it was urged to contact the Police Department at 714-536-5666.

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