Father Accidentally Backs His Tesla Cybertruck Over 6-Year-Old Son, Killing Child Near Temecula

TEMECULA, CA — A 6-year-old boy was struck and killed Saturday night by a Tesla Cybertruck driven by his father as the vehicle was backed out of the family's driveway just east of Temecula.

The tragic incident highlights growing nationwide warnings about the unique blind-zone hazards posed by large, high-profile vehicles.

Preston El Guindy was fatally injured shortly before 9 p.m. outside the family home on Brookhaven Court near Highway 79, according to the California Highway Patrol.

CHP Officer Jesus Garcia said the child's father, Tarik El Guindy, 48, was reversing the Cybertruck out of the driveway when the vehicle struck his young son.

"At the time of the incident, the Tesla was not operating in autopilot mode," Garcia said.

No dashboard alerts flashed or sounded to notify the father that the child was in the vehicle's path, according to investigators. The father immediately called 911, and Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department paramedics arrived within minutes.

The boy was rushed to Inland Valley Hospital in Wildomar, where he was pronounced dead later that night.

Guindy was questioned by responding officers, who found no indication of impairment. CHP officials said the investigation remains ongoing.

"The CHP extends its condolences to the family and all those affected by this tragic loss," Garcia said.

While investigators continue to examine the circumstances of Saturday's collision, safety organizations have long warned that large trucks and SUVs create severe visual obstructions around small pedestrians.

Data from the National Safety Council shows that large vehicles and young children are a particularly lethal combination. High hood and tailgate heights on light trucks create extensive blind zones that can obscure small children entirely from a driver's sightline. Some full-sized pickup trucks have blind spots up to 11 feet longer than those of standard sedans, which can block a driver's view of children.

The height of these vehicles also changes the physical mechanics of an impact. Because trucks hit children higher up on their bodies, collisions are significantly more likely to cause catastrophic head and chest injuries. According to safety statistics, children ages 5 to 9 are four times more likely to die when struck by a pickup truck or SUV than by a smaller passenger car.

Federal regulations required backup cameras on all new light vehicles under 10,000 pounds starting May 1, 2018. Tesla states that it has equipped all its Cybertrucks with rear-facing cameras since the model began production in November 2023.

It's unclear why the equipment failed in Saturday's deadly incident.

Safety groups including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and Kids and Car Safety emphasize that cameras and detection sensors cannot replace complete physical visibility — particularly with incidents known as "frontover" and driveway backover crashes, where children remain hidden in massive blind spots surrounding large vehicles.

—City News Service contributed to this report.