On Saturday, April 12, 2025, at 6:48 AM, police officers were dispatched to E. Orangethorpe Ave and S. State College Blvd. regarding a traffic collision involving an Orange County Transit Authority (OCTA) bus, according to the Fullerton Police Department.
Upon arrival, officers located a gray 1991 Toyota Pick-Up with moderate passenger-side damage just north of the intersection, a White 2018 Tesla Model 3 with significant front-end damage in the intersection, and an OCTA bus with moderate driver-side damage just south of the intersection.
Fullerton Fire responded and immediately transported the adult male driver of the Tesla to a local trauma center for treatment. Shortly after arriving to the hospital, the driver was pronounced deceased. Sadly, the adult female passenger of the Tesla was pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver of the Toyota Pick-up and the OCTA bus involved in the collision remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.
Five passengers riding the OCTA bus were transported to area hospitals with minor injuries.
A preliminary investigation revealed that a white Tesla was traveling westbound on E. Orangethorpe Ave. when it drove through the intersection on a red light, striking the gray Toyota’s passenger side and then colliding with the passenger side of the OCTA bus. At this stage of the investigation, it is unknown if alcohol or drugs were a contributing factor related to the driver.
The identity of the deceased driver and passenger of the Tesla will be released later by the Orange County Coroner’s Office.
Any witnesses with information about this fatal traffic collision are encouraged to contact Fullerton Police Traffic Accident Investigator Feaster at (714) 738-6812 or via email at jfeaster@fullertonpd.org. Those wishing to provide information anonymously can call the Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1(855) TIP-OCCS or visit their website at occrimestoppers.org.
If it’s a Tesla, they also have to investigate whether “Autopilot” was a factor. Billionaire-owned tech companies, who have gotten the general public accustomed and dependent on imperfect unfinished versions of their product that need constant updating, use public roads to test out beta versions of their product. Outrageous.