Crime & Safety

2 Killed After Tesla Slams Into Parked Walmart Truck: FHP

A couple from California died after their Tesla slammed into the back of a parked 18-wheeler, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

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The woman and her 67-year-old male passenger were pronounced dead on the scene. Gainesville Fire Rescue had to extricate the couple from their car, troopers said.
The woman and her 67-year-old male passenger were pronounced dead on the scene. Gainesville Fire Rescue had to extricate the couple from their car, troopers said. (Florida Highway Patrol)

GAINESVILLE, FL — Two people died Wednesday after their Tesla slammed into the back of a parked 18-wheeler, according to Florida Highway Patrol.

Troopers said a 2020 tractor-trailer bearing a Walmart logo was parked in the Paynes Prairie Rest area parking lot in Alachua County.

The driver, a 66-year-old woman, was traveling south on Interstate 75 in a 2015 Tesla before exiting for the rest area.

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For unknown reasons, troopers said the Tesla driver drove toward the semi and struck the back of it.

The woman and her 67-year-old male passenger were pronounced dead at the scene. Gainesville Fire Rescue had to extricate the couple from their car, troopers said.

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Troopers said the couple was from Lompoc, California.

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