The parents of 19-year-old Krysta Tsukahara, who died in November while trapped in a burning Tesla Cybertruck that had crashed in Piedmont, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
Carl and Noelle Tsukahara said they filed the complaint Wednesday in Alameda County Superior Court against the estate of driver Soren Dixon, 19, who also died in the crash, and Charles Patterson, the registered owner of the 2024 Tesla Cybertruck. Dixon’s mother and father did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Attempts to reach Patterson, who is reportedly Dixon’s grandfather, were not immediately successful.
The lawsuit alleges negligence in the operation, entrustment, and maintenance of the vehicle. The Tsukaharas claim Patterson negligently entrusted the Cybertruck to Dixon.
The family seeks compensation for funeral expenses and the loss of their daughter’s future support, as well as damages for the loss of “love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support.”
A survivor’s action included in the lawsuit, filed by Carl Tsukahara, claims Krysta “suffered severe emotional harm and fright as well as significant and painful bodily injuries” and seeks damages for her suffering.
“Krysta was a beautiful, bright young woman with her whole life ahead of her,” her father said in a press release. “We have had to suffer through the silence of those who were with her that night, and how it is that someone could be in this vehicle in the condition that he was in relative to his alcohol and drug use.”
Also killed in the crash was Jack Nelson, 20. A fourth passenger, Jordan Miller, 20, survived after being pulled from the truck by a friend who was driving behind them.
Friends who were at a party earlier that evening — and followed the Cybertruck in a second car before the crash — previously declined or didn’t respond to requests for comment.
When asked by police at the scene of the crash whether he believed Dixon was able to drive, the driver of the second car said, “Legally, no. Physically, from a physical standpoint, yes,” according to body-camera footage obtained by KTVU.
That person told officials the group drank alcohol at a friend’s house in Piedmont prior to the crash, according to a California Highway Patrol report. He estimated that Dixon drank eight alcoholic beverages that night, including beer and vodka.
The owners of the house, Damian Manolis and Monica O’Brien, did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday. When previously reached by The Standard, Manolis hung up the phone after a reporter asked about the gathering at his house that night. A woman who answered the door March 2 declined to comment.
The friend said the group left the party around 2:30 or 3 a.m. to go to Dixon’s house so he could pick up the Cybertruck before heading to Miller’s house.
“We deviated from Jordan’s house because Soren pleaded with me to get the Cybertruck, and I caved,” the friend said in a follow-up statement provided to CHP by his attorney. “Soren did not seem drunk at the time; his speech was normal, and so was his walking.”
Dixon got a speeding ticket for going 102 mph in a 65 mph zone near the Dumbarton Bridge in February 2023, according to records reviewed by The Standard. The vehicle code violation was dismissed after he completed a driver education class run by CHP, court records show.
The Tsukahara family’s attorney, Roger Dreyer, said Krysta Tsukahara was seated in the rear passenger seat when the crash occurred. The lawsuit seeks access to the vehicle, which has remained unavailable to the family’s legal team since the incident.
Toxicology reports showed Tsukahara had trace amounts of alcohol in her system, while the driver had significantly higher levels of alcohol and drugs, according to the lawsuit.
Tsukahara’s blood alcohol content was 0.028%, which is generally considered a low level of intoxication. In California, drivers above the age of 21 can legally operate a car at that level.
Cocaine was detected in the blood of all three of the deceased.
The court filing marks the first time the Tsukahara family has spoken publicly about the tragedy.