iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
New details are emerging from the deadly car crash that killed a family of four in Pleasanton. A complaint to safety regulators raises concerns about the electric vehicle driven by the family — by car maker VinFast.
The Pleasanton Police Department confirmed that the family did not own the electric vehicle they were driving and it now appears that the same car might have previously had issues with losing control of the steering, according to a complaint filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
They ran into a large oak tree, then the car caught fire.
Records from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show days after the crash, someone filed a complaint about electric car maker VinFast with details seeming to match the Pleasanton crash.
The complaint writer says they are the owner of the car, and loaned it to a coworker – the driver in the crash. The complaint also said they’d had prior issues with the car’s steering wheel going rogue. Investigators have said they’re looking into whether speed played a role in the crash.
A spokesperson for VinFast — the vehicle’s manufacturing company that is based in Vietnam — told the Weekly that the company could “neither confirm the authenticity of the complaint nor the information contained therein.”
VinFast is aware of this tragic accident in Pleasanton and our hearts go out to the family,” the VinFast spokesperson told the pleasantonweekly.com. “The authorities are currently investigating the cause of the accident and will share their findings when their work is completed.”
First responders attempted to render aid to one of the children but in the end, all four died at the scene.
The April 29 complaint stated that the manufacturer was made aware of the crash, which matched the April 24 incident, and a case was opened. However, the VinFast spokesperson said the claim that “VinFast opened a case for this incident is not accurate.”
Regarding product quality, VinFast vehicles are designed and manufactured with safety as its top priority,” the spokesperson said.
