On October 13th of last year, a Xiaomi SU7 Ultra caught fire in a traffic accident on Tianfu Avenue in Chengdu, resulting in the death of the owner. Subsequently, the family of the car owner and Xiaomi could not reach an agreement on compensation matters. Recently, the relevant department has released an appraisal report, indicating that the car owner died inside the vehicle due to being unable to open the door after the vehicle caught fire.
According to reports from various mainland Chinese media outlets, in the early morning of October 13, 2025, around 3 am, a Xiaomi SU7 Ultra in Chengdu, Sichuan, collided with a small sedan in the same direction, crossed the central green belt of the road, and caught fire. Many people at the scene attempted to rescue the car owner, Deng, but despite efforts such as hitting and using fire extinguishers, they were unable to open the door. Deng, a 31-year-old male, tragically lost his life. The police report indicated that Deng was suspected of drunk driving.
On January 21, 2026, the traffic management department issued a “Road Traffic Accident Determination Report,” attributing full responsibility to the driver, Deng. The family of the car owner objected to the attribution of responsibility and subsequently applied for a review. On February 11, the traffic management department made a decision to uphold the original determination.
This traffic accident has sparked widespread discussions on the design of electric car doors and whether there are safety hazards related to new energy vehicle batteries, as well as the responsibility of car manufacturers.
On February 25, lawyer Wu Hao from Sichuan Yafeng Law Firm, commissioned by the family, released a lawyer’s statement stating that the “Road Traffic Accident Determination Report” attributes “full responsibility to Deng,” but there is no direct causal relationship between Deng’s death and the accident, and the cause of death should not be linked to him.
According to the statement, after the accident, the traffic management department commissioned a professional institution to conduct an appraisal of Deng’s cause of death. One “Judicial Appraisal Opinion” indicated that three seconds before the collision, the speed of the vehicle was 203 km/h (the speed limit on that road segment was 80 km/h), and the driver had activated the braking system three times. However, the vehicle’s speed decreased only slightly during the first two attempts, ultimately colliding with a white sedan at 167 km/h. After the collision, it took only 9 seconds to open the door from outside. However, the rescue personnel found that the vehicle’s low-voltage system was shut off, rendering the exterior door handle electronic release function ineffective, locking the door, and the emergency mechanical handle was located inside the vehicle without an external handle, making it impossible for rescuers to open the door from the outside.
Another “Autopsy Report” concluded that Deng died as a result of the vehicle catching fire and burning, not directly from the collision. The “Road Traffic Accident Determination Report” also ruled out the possibility that the door system’s structural deformation and damage caused the door to be unopenable.
Lawyer Wu Hao informed “First Financial” that in fact, there are still many key facts yet to be clarified in this accident, such as why the vehicle caught fire and burned rapidly after the collision, with no clear investigation results on the specific cause so far.
The statement indicated that Deng’s family is currently applying to relevant national authorities in accordance with the law, hoping to conduct a professional appraisal on whether there were suspected abnormalities in the braking system before the collision and if the vehicle lost control and skidded, as well as initiating a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding the vehicle catching fire after the collision.