Tesla driver burned mother and baby girl to death after slamming into their car from behind at speeds over 140 mph: DA

Zachary Chernicky, 31, sped at speeds exceeding 140 mph in his Tesla and “smashed” into the back of a car stopped in traffic, killing a mother and her 2-year-old daughter, both of whom burned to death, prosecutors say.

Prosecutors have charged Chernicky with murder in connection with the December 2025 crash that killed Ivana Balistreri, 29, and her daughter Lilliana, according to a Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office press release.

Chernicky sped on the northbound side of California Highway 87 in his Tesla at 142 mph just 15 seconds before the crash, 126 mph five seconds before the crash, and 102 mph when he “plowed into the back” of Balistreri’s Lexus while she was “stopped in traffic,” the DA’s office said Friday.

“[Balistreri] and her child, just two weeks shy of her second birthday, were burned to death in the crash,” the DA’s office says. “The speed limit is 65, if the road is clear.”

Chernicky sped “on the busy highway” around 10 a.m. and struck Balistreri’s Lexus “so hard that both the victim’s car and the car in front of them suffered major fire and crash damage.” Chernicky suffered minor injuries in the crash and fully recovered.

“The law says that it is murder when someone shoots into a crowd,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement Friday. “When someone is driving 140 mph, then the driver is the shooter and their car is the bullet.”

A GoFundMe launched for Balistreri’s family says she and “her beautiful baby girl” Lilliana were both “tragically killed” on Dec. 2, 2025. It describes Balistreri as “one of the purest spirits” her family has ever known and “Baby Lilliana” as their “sweet Lilly Bean,” per the online fundraiser.

“Losing them has destroyed our family in a way words can barely express,” the GoFundMe says. “Two bright, innocent, loving souls were taken from us far too soon.”

Authorities arraigned Chernicky last Tuesday and remanded him to jail without bail. He is charged with two counts of murder and faces “significant prison time” if convicted, according to the DA’s office. His next court date is Aug. 25.