Deadly Cyber Truck Crash in Piedmont: The Day Before Thanksgiving, Community Mourns 3 Dead and Injured Teens

PIEDMONT, Calif. (KGO) — A community gathered Friday night in Piedmont to honor the memory of three teenagers killed in a cybertruck crash the day before Thanksgiving.

Another teenager remains in hospital with serious injuries.

They were all college students home for the Thanksgiving holiday.

This Friday, Nov. 29, 2024 file photo shows several photos of the victims who died in a crash involving a Cybertruck in Piedmont, California.

Hundreds of people stood silently with the common goal of honoring the students whose lives were cut short.

It was a brief silent vigil in Piedmont Park.

Fellow students, classmates, community members – they came in droves; they held hands; they hugged

Three young people were killed and one injured in a Cybertruck crash in Piedmont, police said. They were recent graduates of Piedmont High School.

A Tesla Cybertruck crashed and burst into flames early Wednesday morning at Hampton Roads and King Avenue in Piedmont.

Authorities are still investigating the crash, but they believe the driver may have been speeding.

“Nobody could have imagined that this would happen the day before Thanksgiving,” Mehrad Malekpour said. Malekpour is a Piedmont High School student who did not know the students personally. But he, like many others, came to Friday’s vigil to express his support.

“Piedmont is a tight-knit community and everyone knows each other. It’s almost like a family,” said Malekpour.

The fatal accident affected many people in Piedmont. The slain students graduated from Piedmont High School in 2023. They were all home for the holiday.

“It’s tragic,” Shay Ottaviano said. She was a freshman when students were seniors at Piedmont High. She knows a student who survived the accident.

“I actually knew him. He is so cute. Always nice to be around. He always puts a smile on your face,” Ottaviano said.

The Piedmont Turkey Trot has been modified to allow community members to honor the memory of the three students who died in the Cybertruck crash.

Brian Molino has two children who know the students involved in the crash. He wanted to be close to the families who were greatly affected by this tragedy.

“The community is strong. People here are strong for each other. I hope that somehow I can comfort myself a little. And I hope others can do the same for families,” Molino said.

According to some people, the Friday night vigil was short but impressive.

At the scene of the accident, the former classmate was speechless.

“There’s a lot of things I wish I could tell them right now,” said Cal “Aiden” Weiss, a former classmate.

It is a community bound together in grief, and a community that needs time to heal.