San Jose driver charged with murder in crash that killed mom, daughter

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Prosecutors say 31-year-old Zachary Chernicky was driving more than 140 mph when his Tesla crashed into three vehicles on Highway 87 in December 2025.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – A San Jose man was driving more than 140 mph when his Tesla slammed into multiple vehicles on Highway 87, causing a fiery crash that killed a mother and her toddler daughter, authorities said.

Zachary Chernicky, 31, was arrested Monday, about seven months after the December 2025 crash, after investigators determined he was responsible for the collision.

He is scheduled to return to court Aug. 24.

Prosecutors: Speed, not the vehicle, caused the crash

What they’re saying:

Prosecutors allege Chernicky was driving at an excessive speed when the crash occurred.

“I’ve seen some coverage of this incident that says things like, ‘Tesla crash kills a family,’ but that headline misses the point,” Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Marisa McKeown said. “The Tesla didn’t cause this crash. Chernicky did by driving over 140 miles per hour. That kind of speed — it’s not an accident. This is not some unforeseen tragedy. This is what happens when you drive that fast on our roads.”

Video shows a man trying to free a trapped a woman and baby from a burning vehicle on Highway 87 in San Jose. The woman and child were later pronounced dead.

Mother and daughter killed

What we know:

According to the California Highway Patrol, Chernicky was traveling northbound on Highway 87 just north of Curtner Avenue when his Tesla crashed into another Tesla, a Lexus and a Toyota.

Authorities said both Teslas and the Lexus caught fire. Video from the scene showed three burned vehicles in the middle of the highway.

Inside the Lexus were 29-year-old Ivana Balistreri, who was riding in the front passenger seat, her 1-year-old daughter, Lilliana Balistreri, who was secured in a child safety seat, and Balistreri’s fiancé, who was driving.

Prosecutors said Ivana and Lilliana were killed in the crash. Lilliana died just two weeks before her second birthday.

A mother, Ivana Balistreri, and her daughter, Lilliana, were killed in a fiery multi-vehicle crash Tuesday on Highway 87 in San Jose.

Family recounts desperate rescue attempt

Relatives said Balistreri and her daughter were trapped inside the burning Lexus while Balistreri’s fiancé desperately tried to free them.

The family shared video that appears to show the fiancé running around the engulfed vehicle trying to rescue them.

The mother and daughter died at the scene.