Authorities said the driver was using the Model 3’s “automated driver assistance system.”
Woman dies after Tesla driver reportedly used ‘automated driver assistance system’ crashed into the house in Katy, Texas, according to local authorities. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said the driver, identified as Michael Butler, was driving a Tesla Model 3 with the driver assistance system “on” and crashed into a home at 1907 Blooming Park Lane Friday night.
The police reported that v Model 3 “couldn’t keep up with traffic on one lane, left the road at high speed and crashed into a house.” A woman, Marta Avila, who was inside the house, was involved in the accident. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead “due to injuries sustained in the accident,” police said. Police said in a release that the driver “did not show any signs of the influence of alcohol,” and he also pleaded guilty during the investigation.
Autopilot-related accidents over the past few years have landed Tesla in the crosshairs of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A federal agency opened last year investigation about how Tesla reports accidents involving its driver assistance systems. Most recently, a the judge ruled that Tesla was ordered to pay $243 million for a fatal crash in 2019 that involved the Autopilot feature.
