Viral Video of a Tesla Flying in the Air Before Crashing Into a Car Was Allegedly the Work of a YouTube ‘Prankster’
On Monday, a video went viral of someone driving a speeding Tesla over a hill so fast that it launches roughly 50 feet into the air before crashing into the ground on impact. After hitting the ground, the Tesla collided with at least one car parked on the street, damaging it badly.
After the driver crashed the car, he and the passengers exited the vehicle and then abandoned it on the side of the road.
The incident took place in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Echo Park. YouTuber Alex Choi, who witnessed the crash, said the driver of the rogue Tesla was there to meet up with other Tesla enthusiasts. Other video shows that there were multiple passengers in the car as well as a cat. No one — including the cat — was harmed.
But now, police are left trying to determine the person behind the “prank” that totaled someone’s car and caused so much mayhem in Echo Park on Sunday night.
Alex Hook, the owner of the car that was totaled by the Tesla, says that his car “can’t be turned or driven.”
“The car won’t start and the steering column is shot, but I won’t know the full extent of damage until I get someone to look at it. I can’t drive it,” he told the LA Times.
Hook also described the entire ordeal to CBS Los Angeles as a “cringe-worthy thing” that “gets your blood boiling.”
“It isn’t necessarily the car jumping and crashing, it’s just the attitude of these guys and the fact that they’re so cocky about it and then they just get up and leave after it’s done,” he explained to CBS Los Angeles.
Initially, the authorities told him that there wasn’t much they could do because the Tesla “only caused property damage,” but once the video went viral, the police changed their tune.
“At first, police said they couldn’t do much, but now it’s completely turned around,” Hook told the LA Times. “I guess that’s thanks to the power of the community talking about all of this.”
Authorities have since revealed that the 2018 Tesla was actually a rental car, which makes Hook’s insurance situation relatively murky. Since the video of the crash went viral, Hook set up a GoFundMe page to pay for his car’s repairs, since he’s unsure whether the rental company will pay for his car. So far, he has raised over $20,000.
Police have said that YouTuber and TikTok star Dominykas Zeglaitis, also known as Durte Dom, is a person of interest in the case, after the influencer posted a video to social media bragging about the crash.
We are asking the public to no longer send us any more tips regarding @dominykasor We have reached out to him on his social media account. We are asking any witnesses to also come forward. pic.twitter.com/vFBASt8MQD
— LAPDCTD (@LAPDCTD24) March 21, 2022
“I just crashed my new Tesla,” Zeglaitis posted on TikTok, accompanied by video of him eating a marijuana gummy in a car. The video then cuts to the Tesla crashing to the ground in Echo Park. In a caption, he added: “LAPD didn’t like my stunt.”
However, other YouTubers who were at the meet-up claim that Dominykas Zeglaitis wasn’t actually there, and that he’s trying to take credit for the stunt for clout on social media.
