Silicon Valley boss snared over 145mph horror crash that killed mom, daughter — as dad seen trying to save them from inferno
A high-flying Silicon Valley exec has been charged with murder for diving his Tesla at more than 140 mph into stopped traffic in a fiery crash that killed a mother and her young daughter.
Zachary Chernicky, 31, was arrested on July 13 and is charged with two counts of murder in for the Dec. 2, 2025, crash in San Jose that killed Ivana Balistreri, 29, and her 1-year-old daughter, Lilliana.
Prosecutors say Chernicky was driving 142 mph 15 seconds before impact and was still speeding at about 102 mph when his Tesla slammed into the Lexus SUV that carried Balistreri and her toddler, as well as the driver, Balistreri’s fiancé and Lilliana’s father, Zack Martins.
Balistreri’s car was stopped in traffic, prosecutors charge. The San Jose mom and her daughter, who was just two weeks shy of her second birthday, burned to death in the fiery wreck that occurred at 10: 45 a.m. in clear weather.
Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Marisa McKeown, who’s prosecuting the case, ripped Chernicky in an interview with The Post.
“If people drive like this the natural outcome is that somebody’s going to die,” McKeown said.
Prosecutors say Chernicky was speeding northbound in heavy traffic on Highway 87 when he struck Balistreri’s car so hard that both her car and the car in front of them suffered major fire and crash damage.
A fourth car was also damaged in the crash but was able to drive away.
The causes of Chernicky’s excessive speed remained unclear, McKeown said. He suffered only minor injuries in the crash.
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