Groom credits Tesla Model X for saving his life the night before his own wedding
Chalk up another feel-good story courtesy of Tesla's vaunted safety features.
A California couple almost missed out on exchanging their vows after the groom's rented Tesla Model X was struck in a vicious hit-and-run crash on the eve of their wedding. But according to the groom's heartfelt post on the Teslarati forums, "I am alive today well BC of a Model X."
The groom, who identified himself to Mashable as Mr. Tran, was leaving his rehearsal dinner the night before his nuptials when a stolen Honda Civic on the run from police caught him while he was in the middle of a left-hand turn.
"At this point, it looked like the driver had no intention of slowing down, and I immediately thought that I was either going to get badly hurt or potentially die," he wrote on the forums, posting as QwiksilverA4.
The stolen car then smashed into Tran's Model X at an estimated 65 mph, launching the Tesla about 20 feet from its starting point by Tran's estimation. However, the impact engaged the SUV's 12 airbags. The Tesla's front trunk area, which the automaker claims "acts as a giant impact-absorbing crumple zone," also helped to keep the damage to a minimum.
After the initial shock from impact, Tran was able to kick open the Model X's door to escape.
According to Tran, the Model X was in much better condition than the stolen Civic after the crash.
"The silver car was a mess, but the Model X only suffered a broken axel and bent wheel," he wrote.
Following some understandable post-crash confusion, Tran was able to fill out an onsite accident report and visit the ER.
Luckily, Tran says he was discharged from the hospital that same night with only a torn ligament in his hand and a a few other bumps and bruises, but nothing serious. He even says he was able to focus enough to rewrite his wedding vows, which he recited successfully at the ceremony the next day, as if the crash never happened.
While Tran thinks some divine intervention kept him out of harms way, he gives much of the credit to Tesla for keeping him in one piece for his wedding day.
"I can't thank Elon Musk, Tesla, and the team enough for what they do and want them to know that their car saved my life," he wrote. "Thank you for your time and I hope this message gets passed through to everyone, especially Elon."
This incident isn't Tran's only connection to Tesla (although he does admit he's been interested Elon Musk's automotive vision from the start) — Tran is also an automation controls consultant for Tesla, and works with the company's engineers regularly.
"Little did I know that one of these vehicles would end up saving my life in a potentially deadly auto accident," he wrote.
Topics Tesla
Brett Williams is a Tech Reporter at Mashable. He writes about tech news, trends and other tangentially related topics with a particular interest in wearables and exercise tech. Prior to Mashable, he wrote for Inked Magazine and Thrillist. Brett's work has also appeared on Fusion and AskMen, to name a few. You can follow Brett on Twitter @bdwilliams910.
