Tragedy struck Piedmont last November when a Tesla Cybertruck carrying four college students veered off the road and erupted in flames, leading to the death of three passengers. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the victims, all Piedmont High School graduates, were found with alcohol and cocaine in their systems. The driver, 19-year-old Soren Dixon, had a blood alcohol content of 0.195%, and cocaine was present in all the deceased, the autopsy reported.

The late-night crash at the intersection of Hampton Road and King Avenue involved former classmates Soren Dixon, Krysta Tsukahara, and Jack Nelson succumbing to asphyxia due to smoke inhalation after the Cybertruck caught fire the Alameda County Coroner’s Office reported, which the San Francisco Chronicle disclosed; a fourth occupant, Jordan Miller, endured the crash and has been hospitalized. Piedmont Police, speaking to the severity of the accident, have so far pinpointed speed as a likely factor but have not ruled out other influences on the grim events of that early morning, as mentioned by Hoodline.

In response to this incident, which "devastated the Piedmont community," as Mercury News stated, Police Chief Jeremy Bowers remarked on the unprecedented nature of the crash and the ongoing investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the California Highway Patrol to determine the exact causes. Memorializing the tragedy, the local community honored the lost at a growing roadside tribute and during the annual Turkey Trot event.