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From the [San Jose] Mercury News Apr. 24, 2025
Family of victim in fatal Piedmont Cybertruck crash sues driver's family
After losing their daughter Krysta in a fatal crash last November, Carl and Noelle Tsukahara have sued the family who owned the Tesla Cybertruck.
By Chase Hunter | chunter@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
UPDATED: April 24, 2025 at 2:06 PM PDT
Months after their daughter, Krysta Tsukahara, perished in a fatal Tesla Cybertruck crash in Piedmont last November, her parents are now seeking justice against the driver's family with a wrongful death suit filed in Alameda County on Wednesday.
The Tsukaharas claim they have been stonewalled by the Dixon family, whose son, Soren Dixon, was the driver of the Cybertruck, from learning about the circumstances that led up to their daughter's death. Additionally, they claim they have been barred from accessing the Cybertruck in the wake of the November incident that has kept them from finding closure.
The Tsukaharas requested privacy in the wake of their daughter's death. The Tsukaharas broke that silence to the media on Thursday for the first time.
"I don't think it's moral to withhold information from all the families that have been through this… My heart bleeds for them, too," Carl Tsukahara told Bay Area News Group at his family's home in Piedmont on Thursday. "To not allow the families to just get access to that information — I mean, this is a harsh word — but I find that kind of despicable. I think any parent who loves their kids would feel the same."
At the time of the crash, Krysta Tsukahara was a sophomore at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Her professors noted her aptitude for design and her contribution to the culture of the college. One teacher wrote that she was "one of the most dedicated and hardworking students I've had the pleasure of teaching," according to a Dec. 2 letter from the college following her death. But the promise of her ambition ended tragically in late November last year.
Krysta Tsukahara, 19, died from smoke inhalation and burns suffered in a fatal car crash on Nov. 27, 2025, in Piedmont. Courtesy of the Tsukahara family
In the evening of Nov. 26, Dixon and Tsukahara had attended a party in Piedmont with other graduates of Piedmont High School after they had returned home from their respective colleges. The underage group consumed alcohol throughout the evening, with Dixon himself consuming approximately 8 alcoholic beverages, split between vodka and beer, in addition to cocaine, according to one unidentified witness interviewed by California Highway Patrol.
Between 2 and 3 a.m. on Nov. 27, the group of teenagers planned to move to an address on Wildwood Gardens in Piedmont. Dixon urged members of the party to go pick up a Cybertruck – registered to his grandfather Charles Patterson – located at his home at 6861 Estates Dr. An autopsy of Dixon later found that his blood alcohol content was 0.195% – more than twice the legal limit for drivers over the age of 21 and nearly 20 times the limit for someone of his age, according to the Alameda County Coroner's Office.
Dixon entered the driver's seat, Jordan Miller took the passenger's seat, while Jack Nelson, 20, and Tsukahara sat in the backseat as the group set out for a joyride through Piedmont. As the group neared their destination, Dixon failed to adjust to the curve on Hampton Ave. and crashed into a tree. A subsequent fire from the crash engulfed the car in flames with Tsukhara, Dixon and Nelson inside. A bystander following the vehicle rescued Miller through a window of the truck.
"She was a good kid. Never got in any trouble, never had a speeding ticket, never got in trouble with the law, " Carl Tsukahara said. "Never."
He said the night's events are shrouded in mystery. His family doesn't know where the group of young adults went that night, how Dixon had access to the Cybertruck, or why it caught fire after striking a tree.
The Tsukaharas' lawsuit alleges that Dixon "negligently and carelessly drove" the vehicle. The Tsukaharas also allege that 20 John/Jane Does – individuals, corporations or associates who are unknown to the Tsukaharas – were owners or operators of the vehicle who entrusted Dixon to operate the vehicle.
The Tsukaharas are seeking both non-economic damages in regard to the love, affection and companionship of their daughter, and economic damages for the loss of Krysta's future financial support and funeral costs, according to the lawsuit.
Beyond damages, the Tsukaharas are seeking answers for the devastation that struck their family.
"This is a life-changing, unrecoverable tragedy for a family," Carl Tsukahara said. "She was kind and giving and extremely selfless to both her family and to her friends… She cared about everybody. She cared about people in this town and her family, and I just want people to know that. She was a phenomenal human."
Originally Published: April 23, 2025 at 7:08 PM PDT
Plenty of blame of go around here. I can understand why the Tsukaharas feel like suing whoever was responsible for their daughter's death, but she chose to get into a car driven by an intoxicated guy, so to some degree it's a case of "play stupid games, win stupid prizes." At 19 she was old enough to know better. And it's not as though the Dixon family weren't grieving themselves over the death of their son.
Then there's the matter of the Tesla Cybertruck, a vehicle with the potential for causing dangerous, hard-to-put-out electric fires in case of collisions—like the one that killed these young people. How far back does the chain of responsibility go for that? To the customers who bought it? To the manufacturers? To Elon Musk?
On a personal note: When I graduated high school in the 1960s there was a party on the school grounds. We'd all drunk plenty of wine there but got home safely because the mother of one of my friends drove me home along with her and some other passengers. In my case, "home" was several miles out of their way, but Mrs. S. was nice enough to take me there nevertheless.
1 comment:
The good ol' days. I think they lasted until the 2000s(at least in Grand Rapids).
--GRA
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