Man Found Next to Burning Tesla by CA Firefighters

May 3, 2023
Los Angeles firefighters say the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Grace Toohey

Los Angeles Times

(TNS)

A man in his 50s was found dead late Monday next to a burning Tesla in Valley Village, according to authorities.

Firefighters responded just before 9 p.m. to the burning vehicle near a vacant commercial building on West Riverside Drive, just north of the 101 Freeway, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

As the crew worked to extinguish the fire in the sedan, it found the remains of a man next to the vehicle, the LAFD said.

The time and cause of death for the man were not immediately clear, but investigators do not believe it was a homicide, according to Officer Mike Lopez, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department. Further details about that finding or the circumstances of the fire were not provided.

Detectives initially investigated the incident as a suspicious death, Lopez said, but the status of the probe Tuesday wasn't immediately clear.

The Los Angeles County coroner's office said the cause and manner of death in the case are pending. The identity of the man will be shared when his next of kin are notified, coroner's officials said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, the LAFD said.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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