A man whose Tesla crashed into a firetruck that was on the freeway tending to another incident has been identified by authorities.
The vehicle carrying Genesis Mendoza-Martinez, 31, of Pittsburg hit the fire truck near an Interstate 680 exit about 3:50 a.m. Saturday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Mendoza-Martinez died at the hospital after being cut free from the wreckage with hydraulic tools. The Contra Costa County coroner’s office released his name publicly Wednesday.
It has not been determined whether Mendoza-Martinez was driving the vehicle or whether it was using Tesla’s “Full Self Driving” features, the CHP said. The technology has come under strong criticism, and the company last week recalled hundreds of thousands of cars after federal regulators said the software, which is still in beta testing, could cause crashes.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration in an email Wednesday said they were investigating the incident and have reached out to Tesla for more information on it.
The Contra Costa Fire Protection District in a social media post said fire crews were at the scene of a non-injury crash when the Tesla sedan hit the side of their truck.
Four firefighters suffered what were termed minor injuries and were evaluated at a hospital, according to the fire district.