A 16-year-old high school student died after his Tesla plunged 30 feet down a hillside in Malibu, officials said.
Hunter Langley, a student at Sierra Canyon School, was killed around 7:40 a.m. Wednesday when he suddenly made a sharp turn onto Malibu Canyon Road in his 2018 Tesla Model S and flew off the highway, according to police.
“The vehicle went airborne and collided head-on with a dirt ravine along the mountainside east of Malibu Canyon Road,” the California Highway Patrol said in a statement, according to KTLA.
First responders rushed down the embankment toward the mangled car, but Langley was declared dead at the scene from a traumatic brain injury, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The Sierra Canyon School, where tuition for high schoolers is $48,600, canceled all athletic events Wednesday and offered counseling for its students.
“The loss of a young life can be especially challenging for adolescents,” Sierra Canyon Head of School Jim Skrumbis wrote in a letter to the school community obtained by Sports Illustrated.
“In moments like this, our strength as a community is found in our empathy, our presence, and the ways we come together to care for one another.”
A fellow student, Sean Parrow, called Langley’s death “devastating.”
“He was a great kid … I feel so sorry for his parents. Condolences to them, of course,” Parrow told ABC 7. “He was always the nicest person, he put a light to the room every time he walked in.”
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.