Tesla Driver In Deadly January SoMa Crash Charged on Six Counts, But Judge Releases Him From Jail

"It was actually two crashes. The accused 67-year-old driver Jia Lin Zheng allegedly smashed into three different vehicles on I-280 in a hit-and-run spree, his Tesla then accelerated up to 90 MPH, and he's accused of then barreling down the Sixth Street exit. Another collision there killed 27-year-old Mikhael Romanenko and his dog, and left Romanenko's girlfriend Linh Luu hospitalized with serious injuries."

"The Tesla driver, Zheng, who lives in Honolulu but has remained here since, was not arrested until this past Sunday, as the investigation took several months. DA Brooke Jenkins's office announced Tuesday afternoon that Zheng has formally been charged with felony vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving, and three counts of hit-and-run driving. But Jenkins's press release does not acknowledge a pretty significant detail here, which the Chronicle does report, which is that the judge released Zheng from jail."

"Zheng may have a legitimate argument that the Tesla malfunctioned, and he did not operate the vehicle so that its speed would accelerate. Zheng is far from being the first Tesla driver to complain of what's called sudden unintended acceleration in those vehicles. Tesla maintains that this primarily happens with older drivers who operate the vehicle mistakenly. Regardless, the judge was apparently moved by the fact that Zheng had no previous criminal record,"

A January incident near The Endup and on I-280 involved two crashes in which 67-year-old Jia Lin Zheng allegedly struck three vehicles, his Tesla accelerated to about 90 MPH, and he took the Sixth Street exit. The second crash killed 27-year-old Mikhael Romanenko and his dog and seriously injured Romanenko's girlfriend Linh Luu. Zheng was arrested months later and charged with felony vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving, and three counts of hit-and-run. A judge released him after he pleaded not guilty and surrendered his license. Zheng may argue a Tesla malfunction caused sudden unintended acceleration; Tesla says such incidents mainly arise from driver error. The judge cited Zheng's lack of prior record and that he surrendered to authorities.

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