PALM HARBOR, FL — The driver of a Tesla that investigators said was driving nearly 120 miles per hour before crashing into a home, killing multiple people, pleaded guilty to multiple charges resulting from the deadly accident.
Vaughn Mongan agreed to plead guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide and three counts of reckless driving with serious bodily injury for the 2021 crash.
The ABC Action News I-Team previously uncovered the car’s owner, Travis Meisman, bought the new Tesla hours before the crash and died in it later that night. The Tesla Model S Plaid model that was being driven has a 1,020 peak horsepower electric motor, a top speed of 200 miles per hour, and can go from zero-to-60 in 1.9 seconds.
RELATED: Tesla driver arrested after 116 mph crash kills two people and a dog
Investigators said Meisman allowed his friend, Mongan, to drive the car. Mongan took it down Hermosa Drive, a tiny side street that ends at a “T” intersection directly behind the home of Donna Rein in Palm Harbor.
According to his arrest report, Mongan drove the Tesla 116 miles an hour in a 30-mile-an-hour zone, ran a stop sign, hit a fire hydrant and fence, then went up an embankment. That chain of events launched the car through the roof of Rein's home. It came to rest in the home, propelling Rein and her dog from her bedroom into the front yard.
Rein's family has since taken legal action against the estate of the car's owner
Lawsuit alleges “massive pain, suffering and ultimately her death”
Rein’s family has filed a lawsuit against Mongan and Meisman’s estate, alleging Meisman gave Mongan the Tesla’s keys knowing he would operate the car in “a careless, reckless and/or negligent manner” causing Rein “massive pain, suffering and ultimately her death.”
Records show Mongan has had nine previous traffic violations in Pinellas County, including three speeding tickets.
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