VIDEO: On any given call, the likelihood first responders will find an electric vehicle on the streets of Phoenix is going up.
“There are more and more of these electric vehicles on the road, so we have to be more cognizant if it’s a hybrid if it’s an electric vehicle, how we approach it,” Capt. Evan Gammage with Phoenix Fire Department said. It was Monday night in Paradise Valley when the Department of Public Safety said a woman crashed into the other lanes of traffic near McDonald Drive and 47th Street.
DPS said Nicole Baldovino was pronounced dead at the hospital. Another driver was injured, but officials said they had non-life-threatening injuries.
Baldovino’s Tesla caught fire after the crash.
Gammage said Phoenix fire crews worked to put the fire out, but because of the nature of the electric vehicle, it takes specific tactics to fight. Including having crews test the water coming off the fire for hazardous materials to keep hazards from flowing into the water system.