The Tampa Bay Times reports that after plowing through a house and killing two people, a man now faces homicide charges over the crash.
Authorities say that the driver, Vaughn W. Mongan, was driving a Model S Plaid with three other passengers. While traveling in a 30 MPH zone, he decided to go 116 instead.
According to an arrest report, Mongan was driving a friend’s Tesla with four passengers inside about 10:15 p.m. when he accelerated to a speed of at least 116 mph on Manning Road, where the speed limit is 30 mph.
The Tesla then flew through a stop sign and an intersection before going up an embankment that launched it through the roof of the house. The car struck and killed a woman and her dog inside the house. The force of the crash was great enough to push the woman out of the house and into the front yard where she was found. One of the passengers died later at the hospital and the three other passengers all suffered serious injuries.
Local Tampa ABC affiliate WFTS discovered that the Tesla had been purchased a few hours before the crash. Travis Meisman, the passenger that died from injuries resulting from the crash was the owner. Mongan had asked Meisman to let him drive the vehicle.
Now the family of the woman that died has filed a lawsuit against both Mongan and the estate of Meisman. Mongan is facing vehicular homicide charges, three charges or reckless driving resulting in serious injury and one charge of reckless driving resulting in property damage.
The victim, Donna Rein was the primary caregiver to her daughter and two grandchildren, who lived with her in the home. A GoFundMe has been set up to assist them.