Fiery Tesla Crash Shuts I-280 Lanes

A Tesla overturned and caught fire on northbound Interstate 280 in Daly City early Tuesday, closing lanes through the morning commute. (eastbaytimes.com) The California Highway Patrol said the crash was reported around 6:40 a.m. just north of Hickey Boulevard, and all four northbound lanes were eventually shut down while crews worked the scene. All lanes reopened by about 10 a.m., according to KRON4 and NBC Bay Area. (kron4.com) (nbcbayarea.com) ABC7 reported the driver got out and was not seriously hurt, while firefighters spent hours dealing with what North County Fire Authority described as a battery fire after the rollover. KTVU identified the vehicle as a Tesla Model Y. (abc7news.com) (ktvu.com) Electric-vehicle battery fires burn differently from gasoline fires because damaged battery cells can keep reigniting in a chain reaction known as thermal runaway. That can force firefighters to cool the pack for longer and keep lanes closed after the flames appear to be out. (abc7news.com) CHP told ABC7 it has seen crashes in that same stretch of I-280 during bad weather before. Tuesday’s closure backed up one of the main freeway routes between San Mateo County and San Francisco during peak commute hours. (abc7news.com) (caltrans.ca.gov) Caltrans’ QuickMap and road-information services are the state’s main public tools for tracking lane closures and traffic restrictions in real time, and Tuesday’s shutdown showed how a single vehicle fire can snarl a corridor even after the crash itself is over. (quickmap.dot.ca.gov) (roads.dot.ca.gov) Investigators had not publicly released a cause for the rollover as of Tuesday, and the freeway was reopened after the burned Tesla was removed. For Bay Area drivers, the immediate story ended the same way it began: with a wrecked car on I-280 and a long morning of delays. (eastbaytimes.com) (nbcbayarea.com)