Three people are dead and a fourth is hospitalized with major injuries after a Tesla Model Y slammed into a tree and burst into flames along westbound Serrano Parkway in El Dorado Hills Saturday night at about 10:40 p.m. The car was found completely engulfed in flames near Terracina Drive.
California Highway Patrol officers responded to the crash site on westbound Serrano Parkway near Terracina Drive, according to the Sacramento Bee. The Tesla had crashed into a tree north of the roadway's edge, and by the time crews arrived the vehicle was fully ablaze. A 30-year-old man from Sacramento was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene, while the woman driving the Tesla and another woman passenger were both found dead inside the burned-out car.
A 28-year-old woman from Sacramento managed to escape the vehicle with help from passersby before it was consumed by fire. She sustained major injuries and was transported to a local hospital, per the same report. Westbound Serrano Parkway was shut down for on-scene investigation and cleanup, and did not reopen until around 4:30 a.m.
What Sparked the Fire Remains Unclear
Investigators have not determined what caused the crash or the fire that followed. Earlier reports had indicated the blaze stemmed from damage to the Tesla's lithium-ion battery, but California Highway Patrol Officer Andrew Brown said that account was inaccurate and that the cause of the fire is still unknown, the outlet notes. Officials are working to determine the cause of the crash, and the Highway Patrol remains the lead agency on the investigation.
Traffic collision investigations on public roadways in unincorporated El Dorado Hills fall under the jurisdiction of the California Highway Patrol's Placerville Area office, according to Mason Law, P.C. The crash occurred on Serrano Parkway near Terracina Drive.
Why EV Fires Pose Unique Challenges for Crews
Electric vehicle battery fires can involve difficult-to-anticipate battery behavior. The linked fire-safety material discusses the challenges of extinguishing EV battery fires, according to the Fire Safety Research Institute. Those challenges are relevant when a vehicle is described as completely engulfed by the time first responders arrive.
The discussion also turns to electric vehicle fire behavior.
A Pattern of Serious Crashes on Nearby Roads
Saturday's crash adds to a string of severe collisions in the region this year. In March, an El Dorado County grand jury indicted a driver on charges including murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, connected to a May 2025 head-on crash on Green Valley Road near Silva Valley Parkway that killed an 84-year-old woman, according to ABC10. The region has also seen other serious collisions.
Other Tesla-involved crashes have drawn scrutiny across the wider Sacramento region in recent months. In July, crash reconstruction findings in neighboring Folsom showed a Tesla involved in a fatal collision at the Iron Point Light Rail Station had been traveling 63 mph in a 45 mph zone, causing $34,800 in damage to transit infrastructure, according to the Folsom Times. That same month, a separate report was headlined “Driver Killed and Child Injured After Car Strikes Tree Near Santa Rosa,” according to the linked page.
The El Dorado Hills Fire Department responded to Saturday's scene. The report provided ages, sex and residence for some of the people killed, and the cause of both the crash and the fire remained under investigation.
