A couple from Falls Church, Virginia, died on Sunday after their car went off the road, collided with a tree, and caught fire, police say.
Ashraf Bhagat, 75, died at the scene of the crash on Lakeview Drive in Lake Barcroft at 6:30 p.m., Fairfax County police said in a statement on Monday.
Her husband, 81-year-old Nazir Bhagat, was flown to a hospital with critical injuries. He later died.
Ashraf Bhagat was driving the 2023 Tesla when it ran off the road, slammed into landscaping, and flipped over in the front yard of a home.
The electric car was engulfed in flames in less than 90 seconds, leaving the couple inside.
In a video a neighbor shared with News4, a man wearing an Amazon Delivery outfit is seen removing Nazir Bhagat from the blazing car. According to neighbors, the good Samaritan sustained minor burns.
“I came out to look and I thought, ‘My God, something really serious has happened here, and I walked out and I saw flames,” neighbor Larry Oppenheimer said.
It’s still unclear why the car drove off the road. Fairfax County police believe that speed played a role.
Police are urging anybody with information to phone 703-280-0543 or 1-866-411-TIPS.
