Albert and Calbert Tabaha, Arizona father and son killed after being hit by Tesla driver while filing up truck along the side of a road which had run out of gas. Family urge caution ahead of ‘move over’ law.
An Arizona father and son were killed after they were struck by a female motorist driving a Tesla vehicle while they were on the side of the road filling their truck with gas.
Albert Tabaha, 76, and his son, Calbert, in his 40s, were struck by the un-identified female motorist while filling up their vehicle on the shoulder of a Phoenix freeway early Friday evening.
The driver of the electric vehicle stayed at the scene after hitting the pair on the Loop 202 near Elliot Road. There were no signs of her being impaired. It remained unclear if the driver was speeding.
The father and son were apparently using a gas can to fuel up their Chevy after it had run empty, AZ Family reported.
The tragedy comes just days ahead of of Albert Tabaha’s 77th birthday, the outlet reported.
‘We’re a tight-knit family. Now this Christmas, there’s gonna be two less,’ Calbert’s brother, Delbert Tabaha, who was with the pair when they died, told Fox 10.
Delbert recalled the moments after the crash when he realized his father and sibling were deceased.
‘Down deep, I knew [Calbert] was gone, but I had to check, and I did, and he was already, no response, no nothing,’ he said.
‘I kind of nudged [Albert], like “dad, dad, wake up,” I thought he got knocked out or something, and then I tried calling his name, nothing, so I went like this on his neck, and yeah he was already gone, too.’
Delbert added that while they were filling up the pickup truck, there were multiple lights on that made them noticeable to other drivers.
He said he was holding a bright LED light and had lights blinking on his van, as he was in a separate vehicle.. Delbert added that the pickup truck has its hazard lights on as well.
After Albert and Calbert were struck, another truck came and blocked the road until police arrived to prevent their bodies from being run over again.
Delbert urged drivers to be cognizant and attentive while driving near a pulled-over vehicle with its lights flashing. Arizona’s ‘move over law’ requires drivers to move over one lane or slow down when driving by a vehicle pulled over with flashing lights.
The relative also warned that drivers must go slower.
‘You’re not gonna get a trophy or anything or first prize for being there first, no. See, the person who hit my dad and my brother forever changed our lives. For what?’ he told Fox 10.
Calbert was described as a sports- and family-loving man who valued time with his relatives, especially his nieces and nephews.
‘He’d always make time, like when they’d come over, he’d be like “let’s get something to eat” for the whole family or birthdays,’ Delbert said of his brother.
‘He goes “here’s some money” and he would buy bouncy castles when they were little, bouncy castles and stuff like that.’
Albert was remembered as a positive influence, as well as a caring father and grandfather.
‘He always told us, you know what, the man upstairs and if you have good family, you’re rich. It doesn’t matter, money, it means nothing,’ Delbert told Fox 10.
The Tabaha family plans to take Albert and Calbert’s bodies to the Navajo reservation for burial.
Friday night’s incident is being investigated by the the Department of Public Safety (DPS). It remained unclear if any charges were forthcoming.
A GoFundme fundraiser to assist in the loss of father and son had as of Monday noon raised just on $6,895 on a $14K goal.
