Crashed Tesla explodes into a massive fireball
After crashing into a tree, a Tesla Model S violently burst into flames causing cells from its lithium-ion battery to explode.
The video above shows parts of the batteries, which can burn for up to 24 hours, bursting into flames after the crash and shooting into the air like fireworks. The single-vehicle crash, which killed the driver and a passenger, occurred Thursday morning in Indianapolis, WTHR reported.
In a press conference following the accident, Indianapolis Fire Department Battalion Chief Kevin Jones explained that although he and his team have been trained on how to respond to fires in hybrid or electrical vehicles, fires related to high-voltage lithium-ion batteries require "copious amounts of water" to extinguish and burn at an extremely high temperature.
Jones described the scene of the fatal crash, noting debris and battery cells were strewed approximately 100 feet in each direction.
"Some of those smaller cells that had broken apart began firing off almost like projectiles around the rescuers," Jones said, before he noted he had not seen anything of this magnitude before.