A 71-year-old man was killed after a Tesla in Full Self-Driving mode struck him on a California freeway on Thursday (Oct 22). The Tesla was travelling at 112 kmph, with the driver claiming that it was in assistance mode at the time of the accident. The victim was crossing Interstate 80 in Vallejo when the car collided with him near the I-780 interchange.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the pedestrian was walking from the right shoulder toward the centre divider, directly into the Tesla’s path, which was being driven by a 26-year-old San Francisco man. The horrific accident was followed by another vehicle running into the man who was lying motionless in the traffic lane, as per a report in New York Post.
Authorities responded at the scene around 2:34 am local time, with only the Tesla driver stopping. At this time, it remains uncertain what prompted the man to cross the busy interstate in the middle of the night.
“The video showed the Tesla’s brakes being applied as the vehicle steered to the left in an effort to avoid the pedestrian. Despite these evasive actions, the right front portion of the Tesla struck the individual,” the CHP said in a statement.
Under California law, drivers remain responsible for safely operating their vehicles, even when using automated driving assistance systems.
This is not the first instance of a Tesla involved in an accident in recent months. In June, a Tesla car in automated driver-assistance mode crashed into 76-year-old Martha Avila’s Texas home. The driver, Michael Butler, was in a Tesla Model 3, driving around 8 pm local time in Katy, Texas, about 30 miles west of Houston in Harris County, when his car ran into the house at a “high rate of speed”.
The Tesla slammed through the brick wall and struck Avila, who was taken by a medical helicopter to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. Avila was standing in the front room of the house when the car barged in. Meanwhile, Butler showed no signs of intoxication and was cooperative during the investigation.
Although Tesla Autopilot is a highly popular driver-assistance feature, it has faced repeated performance issues over the years. To avoid the related risks, Tesla’s owner’s manuals explicitly instruct drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and be ready to take control in time of crisis.
