A 76-year-old woman was killed when a Tesla ploughed into her Texas home on Friday evening – a crash the driver told police occurred while he was using the car’s automated driving system. The US auto safety regulator has now opened a formal investigation.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a special crash inquiry on Monday into the incident, which happened at around 20:00 local time on 19 June in Harris County, Texas. According to a police report, the driver of a Tesla Model 3 “failed to drive in a single lane, left the roadway, and struck the residence”.
“US safety regulator opens inquiry after Tesla crash kills woman in Texas; driver says self-driving was on.”
Sergeant Alex Turman of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said the vehicle “failed to turn right at an intersection and, at a high rate of speed, crashed directly into a house”. The woman inside was severely injured and taken to hospital, where she died of her injuries.
Police said the driver was not intoxicated. He told investigators that the vehicle was operating with an automated driving assistance system at the time of the crash. Turman confirmed that one line of police inquiry is the driver’s claim about using automation: “We’re still evaluating what caused the car to fail to control its speed just before this crash.”
The woman lived with her daughter, son-in-law and their three children, all of whom were at home when the Tesla hit. In an interview with local CBS affiliate station, the daughter described hearing a “boom” and discovering her mother in the wreckage. “My mum was such a caring woman,” she said.
The driver was also taken to hospital and is cooperating with the investigation. The NHTSA said its special crash investigation is the most “in-depth and detailed” form of inquiry the agency conducts, often covering emerging vehicle technology to gather data that can improve safety performance. Tesla, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, did not respond to a request for comment.
While local police continue to examine what caused the car to leave the road at high speed, the federal probe will scrutinise the role of the automated driving system – a technology that has faced growing scrutiny following a series of crashes involving Tesla vehicles.