Tesla Model S crash in the US – motorcyclist killed while fully autonomous driving system was active

One 2022 Tesla Model S was found to be operating in Full Self-Driving mode when it collided with and killed a motorcyclist in Seattle, Washington in the United States, reports Related Press.

The investigation came to this conclusion after pulling data from the vehicle’s event recorder, according to Washington State Patrol spokesman Deion Glover.

The 56-year-old Model S driver reportedly told a police officer that he was using the Tesla Autopilot system and looking at his cell phone while the Tesla was in motion. “The next thing he knew, there was a bang and the car shot forward as it accelerated and collided with the motorcycle in front of him,” the officer wrote in a document, according to AP.

The 28-year-old motorcyclist who was struck was found under the car and pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver of the Model S was arrested for investigation of vehicular manslaughter “based on his admission of being distracted while driving, while in autopilot mode and distracted by a mobile phone while moving forward, trusting the machine to drive for him,” according to a document obtained by the news agency.

There is precedent for Tesla drivers being brought to court for accidents when operating under some form of self-driving resulting in deathAnother Model S driver, also in the United States, faces manslaughter charges in 2022 for the deaths of two people in 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

In the Los Angeles case, the Model S crashed into a Honda Civic at an intersection, as the Tesla left the freeway and ran a red light, reportedly traveling at 74 mph (119 km/h) when it hit the Honda Civic.

A Tesla engineer testified that the Model S driver had one hand on the wheel, but data showed no braking action in the six minutes before the crash and prosecutors said the electric car’s Autosteer and Traffic Aware Cruise Control systems were active at the time.

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