Toronto Police Charge Driver After A Tesla Burst Into Flames On A Downtown Street (VIDEO)
The Toronto Police Service (TPS) has charged a driver after a vehicle burst into flames on a downtown street Sunday.
At around 11:40 pm on March 5, Toronto Fire Services (TFS) and TPS were called to Adelaide Street near York Street where a Tesla had caught fire on the side of the road.
TPS told Narcity the 21-year-old driver was involved in a collision and they were later charged with impaired driving, however, it's what happened to their vehicle that's getting the most attention.
Nigel English is a security guard who was working a night shift at a building in the area when he first noticed fire crews arriving and surrounding the Tesla.
In an interview with Narcity, he said a firefighter on the scene told him the car was experiencing some sort of electrical car battery issue and mentioned he could see smoke coming from the vehicle at the time.
"I'm out there for maybe five or 10 minutes and then all of a sudden just out of nowhere within like 10 seconds the car just burst into flames," Nigel explained.
That fire was quickly put out, but when it burst into flames again minutes later Nigel took out his phone to start recording.
Police Charge Driver After A Tesla Burst Into Flames On A Toronto Street #shortswww.youtube.com
"Within maybe another 30 seconds to a minute it just started smoking, and then it started bursting into flames again," he said. "Every time they put out a fire it seemed like five minutes later, it would go back up again."
In the video, firefighters can be seen trying to douse the flames and at one point, a police officer can be seen running away from the vehicle while it's engulfed.
Despite the collision and the multiple fires, no injuries were reported in the incident.
Nigel said he later reviewed his building's security camera footage and said it looked as though the driver of the vehicle knew there was something wrong.
"It looked like they knew something was wrong, and that they weren't taking any chances. They got out right away," said Nigel.
TPS did not have any additional details about the passenger that was with the driver or any information about the multiple times the vehicle caught fire.
Fire at King Street West and Brant Street, Toronto, Ontario..
Zoomed in shot of the fire.