Tesla in Fatal Seattle-area Crash was Using Self-Driving System, Authorities Say
DETROIT (NEWSnet/AP) — Authorities in Washington have determined that a Tesla involved in a fatal accident with a motorcyclist near Seattle in April was using the company’s “Full Self Driving” system at the time of the crash.
Investigators from the Washington State Patrol made the discovery after downloading information from the event-data recorder on the 2022 Tesla Model S, agency spokesman Capt. Deion Glover said Tuesday.
The Snohomish County Prosecutor will determine if any charges are filed in the case, he said. The investigation is still on going in the case.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said last week that “Full Self Driving” should be able to run without human supervision by the end of this year.
After the crash in a suburban area about 15 miles northeast of Seattle, the driver told a trooper that he was using Tesla’s Autopilot system and looked at his cellphone while the Tesla was moving.
“The next thing he knew there was a bang and the vehicle lurched forward as it accelerated and collided with the motorcycle in front of him,” the trooper wrote in a probable-cause document.
The 56-year-old driver was arrested for investigation of vehicular homicide “based on the admitted inattention to driving, while on Autopilot mode, and the distraction of the cell phone while moving forward, putting trust in the machine to drive for him,” the affidavit said.
The 28-year-old motorcyclist was under the car and pronounced dead at the scene, authorities reported.
The motorcyclist's death is at least the second in the U.S. involving Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” system. In investigative documents, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said earlier it had found one fatality and 75 crashes while the system was being used.
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