The driver of the Tesla Model 3 lightly struck the E-bike rider in the pedestrian pathway, who had the right of way.
San Diego County driver and Redditor /u/MJawt shared headshaking dashcam footage from earlier in April (Apr 20, 2026) to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing a Tesla Model 3 driver who, despite having a clear view of the road in front of them, failed to see what looks like a kid riding their e-bike in front of them.
Here’s the dashcam video of the incident below with the original Reddit thread linked here.
The incident happened at the intersection of Santa Alexia Ave and Santa Diana Rd, right across from Saburo Muraoka Elementary School (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As the dashcam shows, OP is headed westbound down Santa Diana Rd.
As this is a four-way, drivers take turns, yielding to traffic and pedestrians with the right-of-way before going.
A kid riding an e-bike assumed a Tesla, which came to a stop at the aforementioned intersection, saw him approaching, and would yield when they started to ride across.
Such was not the case as the Tesla can be seen inching forward to take their turn, ending up nudging the e-bike rider, a hit nonetheless.
It seems the Tesla driver was paying more attention to what OP was going to do than to possible pedestrians.
Still, not an excuse, especially considering it could’ve ended up a whole lot worse.
Thankfully, the forces involved were small enough that there were no immediate injuries, and the e-bike rider was able to ride away without a scrape.
It should be noted that at the Saburo Muraoka Elementary area in Chula Vista, e-bikes are generally not allowed on sidewalks, especially in a school zone where pedestrian traffic is high. Riders are expected to use the street or bike lanes instead and walk their bikes through crosswalks and school-front areas for safety.
If you have kids who ride their bikes in this area, it would behoove you to remind them that you can’t assume drivers will stop for you just because you’re a pedestrian. You must make eye contact with the driver to confirm they see you before making your move.
In kind, drivers have a duty to follow the rules of the road, and that means giving equal priorty to watch out for pedestrians as well as other cars.
In California, a driver who hits a pedestrian, cyclist or e-bike rider due to inattention (like failing to exercise due care or distracted driving) is typically cited under traffic violations that usually carry 1 point on their license and fines that vary by circumstance. If injuries occur, penalties can increase and may include additional infractions, higher fines, and possible civil liability regardless of who had the right-of-way. Even if the e-bike was somewhere it shouldn’t have been, drivers still have a legal duty to avoid collisions whenever reasonably possible.
