Two of the teenagers killed when a Tesla Cybertruck crashed and ignited in a wealthy town have been identified.
Soren Dixon and Jack Nelson, both 19, died alongside an as-yet unnamed female friend, 19 in Piedmont, California, about 3am local time on Wednesday.
A fourth teenager who also remains unidentified was pulled alive from the SUV but was seriously burned.
Cops said they were investigating speeding as a possible cause of the horrific tragedy, which came after the friends traveled home for Thanksgiving to see loved ones.
All four were old friends who graduated Piedmont High School in 2023 and were sohopmores in universities around the country.
Nelson and Dixon were stars on the Piedmont HS lacrosse team and Nelson also played junior varsity football and varsity soccer.
Dixon continued playing lacrosse at the University of Southern California and Nelson studied at the University of Colorado Boulder and joned the Sigma Nu fraternity.
Police said the car jumped the curb and collided with a concrete wall before striking a tree and going up in flames, killing three of the passengers and injuring the fourth.
Jack Nelson, 19, (right, pictured with his friend AJ Harris) was killed along with two friends in a tesla Cybertruck crash in Piedmont, east of Oakland. A fourth friend survived badly burned
Soren Dixon, 19, was also killed in the Cybertruck crash. He studied at the University of Southern California after graduating Piedmont and all four friends had returned for Thanksgiving
The Cybertruck burst into flames when it crashed in the ritzy Piedmont neighborhood, east of Oakland, at Hampton Road and King Avenue about 3am on Wednesday
It is unclear who was driving the truck at the time of the smash, and cops indicatied speed as a possible factor, adding their probe into what happened was ongoing.
Both the dead victims who have so-far been identified came from wealthy families whose homes were worth several million dollars each.
Their mothers, Kristen Dixon and Stannye Nelson are board members of The Cancer League, and Nelson’s father Todd is general manager of Abbott Diabetes Care.
The injured man was sedated and recovering from burn wounds after having emergency surgery.
‘We are just devastated. I know the family whose son is in the hospital right now. I know the other families,’ neighbor Aileen Desoto told a local news station.
‘I know he has surgery. He is in recovery. He had some burns. He is under sedation. So, we are hoping he recovers.’
Dixon (second from left) and Nelson (far right) in a photo from high school
Bronson Boyle (left), who was Dixon’s rommate at USC, shared a photo of them standing in their dorm room calling him ‘the best roomate and friend I ever could’ve asked for’
AJ Harris, a Piedmont HS basketball player and friend of both Dixon and Nelson, mourned both of them with photos of the trio together since they were young kids.
‘I can’t even describe how I’m feeling right now. I love and miss you so much,’ he wrote on Instagram.
‘The two happiest guys I’ve ever met, you lit up every single room and brought joy to everyone around you. All the way from 2nd grade on, there was never a dull moment. Two of the kindest people I’ve ever met.
‘You both had such a huge impact on my life and I will never be able to tell you how thankful I am for you. Always there for me no matter what.
‘I will miss you everyday for the rest of my time. I know you are watching over us and keeping us safe. I love you both.’
Bronson Boyle, who was Dixon’s roommate at USC, shared a photo of them standing in their dorm room calling him ‘the best roommate and friend I ever could’ve asked for’.
‘Our first night as roommates we snuck onto the new north roof, and just talked for hours, getting to know one another,’ he wrote.
‘That first day encounter, and every day of the 8 months that followed as roommates, were filled with unpredictable fun. Always upbeat, ever inviting, and ferociously fun – that’s who you were. I’m so glad to have known you.
‘I’ll always remember you as brother-one who was righteous beyond belief. Rest in peace man. I’ll miss ya every day. I’ll raise a glass to you every day forever.’
Nelson (pictured) and Dixon were stars on the Piedmont HS lacrosse team and Nelson also played junior varsity football and varsity soccer
AJ Harris, a Piedmont HS basketball player and friend of both Dixon (second from left) and Nelson (right), mourned both of them with photos of the trio together since they were young kids
Sandy Martin, who was their middle school teacher, said: ‘They are smart kids, they are good kids. They are also so, kids who were very supportive of their friends.’
Police chief Jeremy Bowers said another car had been trailing the Tesla and pulled the survivor out of the wreckage.
‘The solo vehicle that was involved in the crash, there was another vehicle that came after it, that was following behind and came upon the vehicle as it was fully engulfed,’ Bowers said.
‘The individual exited the car and was able to pull the person out, but the nature of the vehicle was a Cybertruck and the heat was just too intense.’
Bowers said it is possible the victims and the man who tried to rescue them all knew each other and had been together before the crash.
The front of the Cybertruck was completely destroyed. The electric vehicle’s battery is not believed to have caught fired following the collision.
Authorities that fire crews tried to douse the fireball with extinguishers, but the intensity of the flames was too hot.
Investigators believe speed was a factor in the crash, but are still in the early stages of finding out exactly what happened
A mother close to the families of the victims said that two of the victims who died were men and the other was a woman
‘Due to the quick nature of being able to suppress the fire, we don’t think the main lithium battery of the car were on fire. But that’s going to be determined as part of the investigation,’ Piedmont Fire Chief David Brannigan said.
The local news station filmed the man who tried to rescue the victims being comforted by two others a short time later.
‘This is just a tragic loss of life,’ Bowers said. ‘We don’t know the cause of the collision and during the holiday season, our hearts go out to the families that are going to have to deal with this tragedy.’
The affluent community dedicate their Thanksgiving Turkey Trot to the victims and Mayor Jen Cavenaugh gave brief memorial remarks to open the event and led the community in a moment of silence.