politics
Man Charged With Murder in Fatal Tesla Crash That Killed Mother and Child
Zachary Chernicky faces two murder counts after prosecutors say he drove a Tesla at 142 mph into stopped traffic on Highway 87. The December 2025 collision killed Ivana Balistreri and her daughter Lilliana.
Jul 21, 7:56 PM·1m read1 source
New York PostAudio version
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Zachary Chernicky, 31, was arrested on July 13 and charged with two counts of murder in the December 2, 2025, crash on Highway 87 in San Jose, New York Post reported. Prosecutors said he drove a Tesla at 142 mph fifteen seconds before impact and struck a stopped Lexus SUV at about 102 mph. The collision at 10:45 a.m.
In clear weather killed Ivana Balistreri, 29, and her one-year-old daughter Lilliana. The Tesla hit the SUV carrying Balistreri, Lilliana, and Zack Martins, the child's father. A fourth vehicle sustained damage but drove away.
Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Marisa McKeown, who is prosecuting the case, said the speed made a fatal outcome likely. “If people drive like this the natural outcome is that somebody’s going to die,” McKeown stated. Chernicky suffered only minor injuries.
Lilliana sat strapped in a child safety seat behind her mother and died two weeks before her second birthday. Martins tried to pull the victims from the burning vehicle. An online fundraiser for the family raised nearly $108,000 toward a $120,000 goal.
Chernicky was ordered held without bail at his arraignment. He is scheduled to return to court on August 25. In LinkedIn posts he stated he had held jobs at Google and Mistral AI.
