Viral Tesla crash sparked LAPD investigation after influencer claimed he was behind stunt

Los Angeles law enforcement are on the lookout for the person at the rear of a current stunt captured on video clip in which a driver of a Tesla sped in excess of a hill and crashed into two other cars.

Police officials in the beginning supplied a $1,000 reward for information about the individual at the rear of the crash. But they have due to the fact requested the public to cease contacting into their tip line to report influencer Dominykas Zeglaitis, also recognized as Durte Dom, as a suspect.

“We have been given in excess of 50 tips and anticipate extra thanks the story likely viral,” officers said in a tweet from the @LAPDCTD account. “In excess of 90{7b5a5d0e414f5ae9befbbfe0565391237b22ed5a572478ce6579290fab1e7f91} of the strategies are of the identical particular person who has a TikTok deal with of @dominykas or @durtedom on Twitter. He is thought of a man or woman of interest based mostly on the public postings on his account.”

Zeglaitis, a controversial social media persona who was as soon as aspect of influencer David Dobrik’s Vlog Squad, to begin with posted video clips of the incident to his social media accounts, together with TikTok, boasting to be element of the crash. After some influencers disputed his involvement, he posted a YouTube movie expressing his promises were section of a prank.

Zeglaitis did not promptly answer to a ask for for comment. Law enforcement reported they have attained out to him on social media.

Zeglaitis claimed responsibility for the incident on his TikTok profile, the place he experienced 2.7 million followers, which now seems to be deleted.

“I just crashed my new Tesla,” he wrote in text that appeared around movie of him at the rear of the wheel prior to a shot of the motor vehicle flying by way of the air.

The video has been eliminated from TikTok. Right before it was eliminated, it had amassed far more than 11 million sights. A spokesperson for TikTok directed NBC News to the platform’s community suggestions against hazardous functions and problems, which point out that the platform does not allow “users to share articles depicting, advertising and marketing, normalizing or glorifying perilous acts that may perhaps direct to severe personal injury or loss of life.”

In a further online video, Zeglaitis claimed he was intoxicated although driving. He also posted a video clip mocking the Los Angeles Law enforcement Office, composing, “LAPD did not like my stunt,” with the tune “F— Tha Police” by N.W.A participating in in the background. His most latest movie on the account was a clip of a information report about the stunt in which he captions the TikTok online video “look mom i’m well-known.”

Police have not released a description of the driver. The crash is thought to have taken put early Sunday in Los Angeles’ Echo Park.

Baxter Street, exactly where the incident occurred, is thought of the steepest hill in Los Angeles, and it has been a web page for those people seeking to document perilous stunts.

In video clips of the incident, the person guiding the wheel drives a rented 2018 Tesla S-BLM over a road with a steep drop, going so rapid that the auto will become airborne as it breaches the hill. It then comes crashing down onto the ground, with items of the automobile shattering and detaching as onlookers history.

Police say the car or truck hit trash cans and two other motor vehicles. The Tesla was deserted at the scene. Police have deemed the incident a misdemeanor strike-and-run.

Some stated Zeglaitis wasn’t at the scene, right before he admitted it himself

Zeglaitis has been at the heart of controversy in advance of.

In March 2021, Insider published a report including rape allegations that an nameless woman produced versus Zeglaitis. Insider gave the accuser the alias “Hannah.” Hannah mentioned Zeglaitis experienced sexual intercourse with her in November 2018 when she was drunk to the issue of “blacking out” and not able to consent. In September, Zeglaitis denied the rape allegations in a YouTube video clip.

In November, two extra girls accused Zeglaitis of sexual misconduct in an additional Insider post. Zeglaitis has not responded to any other specific allegations of sexual misconduct, but in 2017 he apologized to unnamed females who he said he experienced aggressively sexually pursued.

Zeglaitis, who has ongoing to post stunts and pranks on TikTok and YouTube, has also employed his accounts to share videos of wild stunts, which he occasionally falsely claims as his possess.

In advance of Zeglaitis admitted that his claims were part of a prank, some influencers claimed he was not current when the Tesla stunt occurred and that he stole the movie to gain clout.

Law enforcement said that although 90 p.c of the guidelines they have acquired have been about Zeglaitis, the other 10 p.c have been about car YouTubers Alex Choi and Chaz Warren, the two of whom shared videos of the incident to their social media accounts.

“this new traveling tesla program update is going crazy,” Choi wrote in a online video of the car.

Choi later posted to his Instagram story declaring Zeglaitis was not present when the stunt transpired.

“DURTE DOM DID NOT Bounce THE TESLA” he wrote. “Not confident why he’s lying to anyone and declaring he did … I was there, observed almost everything and he was not even there.”

Choi and Warren did not straight away reply to a ask for for remark.

Bianca Britton contributed.