A 76-year-old woman named Martha Avila was killed when a Tesla Model 3 drove through the wall of a house in Katy, Texas, on June 19. The driver of the Tesla claims that the vehicle was using its automated driver assistance program at the time of the collision.
According to the Harris County Sheriff's Department, the driver, 44-year-old Michael Butler, did not appear to be under the influence at the scene of the accident. He was transported to a local medical center to be treated for his injuries following the crash.
The official report from the sheriff's department states that Butler claimed he was operating the vehicle with the automated driving assistance system engaged at the time of the crash. However, the nature of the crash has led to some pushback from Tesla executives, with CEO Elon Musk expressing doubts about the situation as presented in the police report.
View Price on AmazonTesla's vice president of Autopilot and AI software, Ashok Elluswamy, also weighed in on the incident, seemingly placing blame on Butler and citing data regarding the vehicle's operation that has not been released publicly.
This incident is not the first time Tesla has faced scrutiny over its autonomous driving systems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened nearly 50 investigations into the company related to these systems since 2016, resulting in the death of nearly two dozen people.
A Houston-based law firm has announced plans to sue both Butler and Tesla on behalf of Avila's family. A GoFundMe has been set up for the family, which has raised over $30,000 as of this story's publication.
Source: roadandtrack.com
