The Coroner's Bureau of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office released the name of the fourth victim in a fiery crash in Pleasanton as Rincy George, a 41-year-old woman and resident of Pleasanton.
On Monday, the Coroner's Bureau released the names of the other three individuals killed in the crash as 41-year-old Tarun Cherukara George, 13-year-old Rowan George, and 9-year-old Aaron George. The Coroner's Bureau confirmed that these three individuals were also residents of Pleasanton.
Pleasanton Police said that a family of four was driving an electric VinFast vehicle on Foothill Road near Stoneridge Drive at around 9 p.m. on April 24 when the driver appeared to lose control and the vehicle collided with a tree, then burst into flames. Despite efforts to save one of the children, police say all four family members died at the scene.
Police said that speed may have been a factor in this crash, however, their investigation is still ongoing.
Friends identified the family killed in the crash as Tarun (the father), Rincy (the mother), and their two children Rowan (who was in eighth grade at Hart Middle School), and Aaron (a second grader at Donlon Elementary School). Around 200 classmates, teachers, and parents gathered in Pleasanton on Sunday to mourn this family.
A complaint filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Monday claims the vehicle involved in the crash was a 2023 VinFast VF8. The person who filed the complaint alleges that the car had issues before the crash, saying "the steering wheel automatically maneuvered" and "that the failure recurred where the lane assist was turned on by default and it would automatically move the steering wheel."
The person who filed the complaint alleges that "a coworker" was driving that particular vehicle on April 24 in Pleasanton, CA when the vehicle crashed into a pole, then a tree, then caught on fire, and all four occupants in the car died. Additionally, the person who filed the complaint was concerned that the failure they'd experienced at an earlier date had recurred when their coworker was driving the vehicle.
ChargePoint, an electric vehicle charging network company based in Campbell, confirmed to NBC Bay Area News that Tarun George was "an incredibly well-liked" employee of theirs. The company also said that the car George was driving "was not related to his work or the ChargePoint business in any way."
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