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Local attorney ID'd as victim in fiery fatal crash in Pleasanton

Cause of Jan. 18 wreck at Hacienda & West Las Positas still under investigation

The Alameda County Coroner's Bureau on Monday confirmed the identity of the Pleasanton man killed in a fiery fatal crash at Hacienda Drive and West Las Positas Boulevard more than a week earlier as 58-year-old Joseph S. Freschi.

Freschi, who was a local attorney, was the only occupant of a 2018 Tesla Model S that lost control and slammed into a traffic signal pole and cement wall in front of the Andares condo complex around 6 p.m. Jan. 18.

The cause of the crash, as well as final determination of Freschi's cause of death, remain under investigation. The Pleasanton Police Department had not responded to a request for updates on the case on Monday.

The fatal crash unfolded when the Tesla driver -- later identified as Freschi -- lost control for unknown reasons at the prominent intersection while traveling southbound on Hacienda Drive, according to the original police statement.

The Tesla struck a traffic signal pole and a cement wall, and then caught fire, according to police. It took the coroner's bureau several days to confirm the identity of the driver because of the condition of the body after the fiery crash, according to authorities.

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Police also reported the following day that the Tesla's battery reignited after the car had been taken away from the scene. Fire crews responded to contain the flames.

A UCLA-educated attorney, Freschi focused on business clients with franchise law and general counsel services, according to a professional profile posted on the Hacienda website from January 2015, soon after he moved his firm's office to the Pleasanton business park. It is unclear where his practice was based at the time of his death.

He also had prior professional experience as a deputy city attorney in the city/county of San Francisco as well as counsel for 24-Hour Fitness, Planet Fitness and Rockin' Jump, according to the Hacienda profile. Freschi had been board chair for Intelametrix and owned two Planet Fitness franchises at one time.

Freschi was listed as executive vice president and general counsel for Rockin' Jump, the indoor trampoline park company based in Pleasanton with dozens of franchise locations open nationwide. Company representatives did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

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Jeremy Walsh
 
Jeremy Walsh, a Benicia native and American University alum, joined Embarcadero Media in November 2013. After serving as associate editor for the Pleasanton Weekly and DanvilleSanRamon.com, he was promoted to editor of the East Bay Division in February 2017. Read more >>

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Local attorney ID'd as victim in fiery fatal crash in Pleasanton

Cause of Jan. 18 wreck at Hacienda & West Las Positas still under investigation

by / Pleasanton Weekly

Uploaded: Mon, Jan 27, 2020, 9:41 am
Updated: Mon, Jan 27, 2020, 4:57 pm

The Alameda County Coroner's Bureau on Monday confirmed the identity of the Pleasanton man killed in a fiery fatal crash at Hacienda Drive and West Las Positas Boulevard more than a week earlier as 58-year-old Joseph S. Freschi.

Freschi, who was a local attorney, was the only occupant of a 2018 Tesla Model S that lost control and slammed into a traffic signal pole and cement wall in front of the Andares condo complex around 6 p.m. Jan. 18.

The cause of the crash, as well as final determination of Freschi's cause of death, remain under investigation. The Pleasanton Police Department had not responded to a request for updates on the case on Monday.

The fatal crash unfolded when the Tesla driver -- later identified as Freschi -- lost control for unknown reasons at the prominent intersection while traveling southbound on Hacienda Drive, according to the original police statement.

The Tesla struck a traffic signal pole and a cement wall, and then caught fire, according to police. It took the coroner's bureau several days to confirm the identity of the driver because of the condition of the body after the fiery crash, according to authorities.

Police also reported the following day that the Tesla's battery reignited after the car had been taken away from the scene. Fire crews responded to contain the flames.

A UCLA-educated attorney, Freschi focused on business clients with franchise law and general counsel services, according to a professional profile posted on the Hacienda website from January 2015, soon after he moved his firm's office to the Pleasanton business park. It is unclear where his practice was based at the time of his death.

He also had prior professional experience as a deputy city attorney in the city/county of San Francisco as well as counsel for 24-Hour Fitness, Planet Fitness and Rockin' Jump, according to the Hacienda profile. Freschi had been board chair for Intelametrix and owned two Planet Fitness franchises at one time.

Freschi was listed as executive vice president and general counsel for Rockin' Jump, the indoor trampoline park company based in Pleasanton with dozens of franchise locations open nationwide. Company representatives did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

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