TAMPA, Fla. — “EMERGENCY!!! My child is trapped inside!”
A Tampa mother's cell phone video from a Halloween morning two years ago still captures the panic she felt watching her 1½-year-old daughter trapped inside a Tesla Model 3 — unable to get out.
"Baby, you're ok, we're coming to get you, we're coming to get you," Dakota Knox can be heard saying in footage she captured on her cell phone.
Knox's daughter, Salem, was dressed as Tinkerbell for her school's Halloween parade when Knox's husband strapped her into her car seat and shut the door — and all the doors on the electric car suddenly shut down.
"My husband comes over and says, 'I can't get in the door, the front door of the car, and I'm like, what are you talking about,'" Knox said.
Screenshots Knox provided show her desperate attempt for help.
"EMERGENCY!!!! My child is trapped inside the car, and the 12-volt battery died. We are trying to jump the car…COME QUICKLY!!!!!" she wrote on a help form to Tesla.
Police were called. After nearly two hours, they finally managed to locate and lift the manual lever that opened the doors, getting baby Salem out.
"It's crazy, it's insane, especially with the technology that the car has, and how futuristic it is. You would think that there would be a better plan for something as simple as entering and exiting the car, it's crazy," Knox said.
While there is a manual lever on the front seat, there is nothing comparable in the back. Instead, the back seat release is located under a mat on the side door — a design that has proven nearly impossible to access in an emergency.
"Even us trying to get into his — yeah, it's impossible," Knox said.
Complaints, injuries, and deaths
The problem has resulted in complaints to federal regulators over electric car door systems that fail to open when the battery shuts down, and manual releases that are hard to find and access. The result has left people trapped — and in some cases, dead.
Nearly 4 years ago, 33-year-old Hans Von Ohain was behind the wheel when his Tesla Model 3 crashed into a tree and burst into flames in Colorado, as reported by our sister station Denver 7. According to investigators, the new husband and father was conscious after the crash — but couldn't get out. His car's electric door system became a focus for investigators who, ultimately, were "unable to conclusively determine why he did not exit the vehicle."
Dozens of electronic door complaints have since been filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), prompting two active federal investigations. This January, a class action lawsuit was filed in Florida against Tesla, targeting 2014-2016 Model S vehicles and alleging they are "defective" because of "door handles that routinely fail." Tesla denies "every allegation and assertion."[Tesla did not respond to our request for comment about the federal probes and legislation to address on-going concerns regarding car door systems].
According to federal lawmakers, electronic door failures have resulted in at least 15 deaths nationwide.
SAFE Exit Act
Congress has now gotten involved. A new bill known as the SAFE Exit Act would require every electric car to be equipped with a fail-safe manual door release inside and a way for first responders to get in from outside.
"It's time to take action on this critical safety failure," U.S. Robin Kelly (D-IL) said during a committee meeting earlier this year.
The issue extends beyond Tesla and affects multiple electric car makers. China recently became the first country to ban hidden car doors on electric vehicles due to safety concerns.
Amber Rollins, head of the national nonprofit Kids and Car Safety, has a direct message to electric car makers.https://www.kidsandcars.org/
"Fix it now, please do not wait for more people to die. This is an easy thing that can be remedied. And you don't have to wait for the federal regulation," Rollins said.
Knox agrees.
"I really hope that they take that seriously. We're one of the lucky ones. I feel like we need to speak for all those people who can't."
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Katie LaGrone focuses on making sure Florida’s laws actually work and her investigations have gotten results. If you know of a policy or law that’s not working how it’s intended, send Katie a message below.
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