'You couldn't open the door': Concerns over awareness of and access to Tesla emergency latch after 4 killed in Toronto, 5 killed in Wisconsin

When a Tesla crashed on Lakeshore Blvd. in Toronto last month, the first people on scene knew there were occupants inside but couldn’t immediately get them out.

“You couldn’t open the car,” said Rick Harper, a Canada Post employee who saw flames shooting from the vehicle and stopped to help. With the help of other bystanders, they were able to smash one of the car’s windows and pull a woman to safety.

Four others, including the driver, died inside the vehicle.

“The car was locked because of lack of battery power,” Harper said. “I don’t know the ins and outs of a Tesla…but she wasn’t able to get herself out until we broke that window.”

The crash is still under investigation and police have said it’s not clear whether the crash itself, or the fire that engulfed the vehicle, caused the fatalities.

But the incident has some questioning the safety of electric vehicles in emergency situations. Doors need power to open and if the battery dies, doors can lock as a result.

A similar crash last week in Wisconsin is also being investigated by police. Five people were killed when a Tesla crashed into a tree and burst into flames.

“It’s just a different world,” said Mike Klimkosky, who helps prepare first responders for some of the challenges with responding to crashes and fires involving electric vehicles. “We are going to have think about these incidents differently.”

Klimkosky says EVs have a latch inside the car that can manually open doors.

He said there is typically one on the driver’s side and sometimes one in the back seat of the car. He says every owner should know about these latches and review their owner’s manual for vehicle-specific systems, as they can save lives. Tesla's guide is available online here. 

“A mechanical latch or switch will open the door under any circumstances,” he says. “Whether (the vehicle) is moving, whether it’s in an accident or what have you. It will open the door.”

But some, it seems, either don’t know about the latch, or can’t access it in an emergency due to factors like location, incapacitation or disorientation.

CTV National News interviewed a man during the flooding in Toronto in July who says he was trapped in his Tesla as flood waters rose. He was eventually able to pry a window open and crawl out.

“The windows were stuck, the doors were stuck. I couldn't open the car, it shut down completely,” Edris Kyalignmba said. “It was really scary. It was like a horror movie.”

A Florida family has sued Tesla because of its doors, claiming they are to blame for the death of Omar Awan in 2019. First responders say they tried to get Awan out of the car but could not get the doors open. The medical examiner report says Awan died from burns and inhaling toxic fumes, not from the impact of the crash.

But in court filings, Tesla has denied the family’s allegations, saying the car was “state of the art” and made to industry standards.

Klimkosky says electric vehicles, including Teslas, are safe and perhaps safer than gas-powered vehicles.

According to the U.S Insurance Institute for High Safety, injury claims for occupants in EVs were more than 40 per cent lower than for identical gas-powered models from 2011-2019.