Teens ‘on way home from Christmas party’ killed after Tesla crashes into tree in Surrey

Tributes have been paid to two teenage friends who died in a horror crash when their car smashed into a tree.

Jake Neaves and Jenson Seal, both 19, died in the crash when their taxi, a Tesla, came off a country road in Hurst Green at around 10pm on Saturday night.

Friends in another cab stopped to pull two of them out before the white Tesla exploded into flames.

Tragically, the two were confirmed dead at the scene, while a third man, also in his late teens, was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

A 30-year-old man, thought to be the cab driver, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving, police said.

A local told the Daily Mail: ‘There had been six of them out for a Christmas party and they’d done the sensible thing and went and got a cab home from Oxted station.

‘Three went in the Tesla and the others went in another taxi but at some point during the journey home, for a reason we still don’t know, the Tesla hit a tree.

‘The lads from the other vehicle stopped and tried to get their friends out and managed to get two free but the Tesla apparently burst into flames.’

Friends of the pair arrived at the scene of the fatal crash to leave flowers.

One told the Daily Mail: ‘They were both lovely lads with hearts of gold. Just amazing people.

‘They didn’t have a bad bone in their body and always put smiles on people’s faces.

‘They’d been with a group of friends and had gone to London to enjoy a Christmas day out and had got the train back in the evening to Oxted and then got two cabs from Oxted rail station.

‘Jake and Jenson were in the same cab with another of their friends when the vehicle hit the tree and caught fire.

‘The other lads in the second cab stopped and got out to try and save them. They are devastated, as so many people are. Jake and Jenson were two of the nicest lads you could meet.’

Residents said the route had become something of an accident hotspot.

One wrote online: ‘That road is so dangerous.

‘Just yesterday I was telling a friend about a car which had gone through a hedge and rolled over a couple of weeks ago on Popes lane.

‘A tragedy for all concerned, a terrible thing to happen.’

A statement from Surrey Police said: ‘Officers were called to Holland Road near to the junction with Popes Lane shortly before 10pm last night (Saturday, 20 December) following reports of a serious collision involving a white Tesla and a tree.

‘We are asking anyone who may have witnessed this collision to get in touch.

‘We are also seeking CCTV, dashcam, or helmet cam footage that may have captured all or part of this incident.’

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