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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.
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“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.
McKeown said Lilliana was strapped in a child safety seat behind Balistreri. Lilliana died just two weeks shy of her second birthday.
Dramatic video of the scene shows Martins, 33, trying to save Balistreri and Lilliana from their burning vehicle. The would-be father from San Jose appears to ask a bystander to go for help.
Balistreri’s family launched an online fundraiser to help cover expenses that raised nearly $108,000 of its $120,000 goal.
Balistreri’s family described her as kind, gentle, and full of life.
“She never judged, never gossiped, and loved everyone around her with her whole heart,” Balistreri’s family wrote. “Two bright, innocent, loving souls were taken from us far too soon.”
Chernicky appears smiling with a husky on his Facebook profile. In posts on LinkedIn, discussed the benefits of artificial intelligence and said he’s held jobs at Google and Mistral AI.
He also talks up software for DJs he’s developing, which he shares in videos posted online.
“The clips have pulled in over 125,000 views in a month, and the people watching aren’t friends,” Chernicky boasts.
Chernicky was ordered held without bail at his arraignment Tuesday. He is scheduled to return to court Aug. 25.
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