- In Texas, Tesla Michael David Butler was found guilty of manslaughter in the crash involving him, which claimed the life of 76-year-old Marta Avila.
- According to Butler, 19-year-old, he was driving a Tesla Model 3 with Full Self-Driving; the material says that the details of the incident are still being clarified by investigators.
- NHTSA and NTSB are investigating the crash, while Avila’s family filed a civil lawsuit against Tesla, alleging that the company’s “Autopilot” system was defective.
In the U.S. state of Texas, Tesla driver was sentenced to an unintentional killing (manslaughter) charge for a crash in which 76-year-old Marta Avila died. The case was reported by Reuters and NBC News.
According to the materials, Michael David Butler, 44, was driving a Tesla Model 3 with Full Self-Driving when, according to investigators, he had his hands on the “Autopilot” system. The materials also note that Avila died after the crash in the Katy area in Texas.
According to NBC News materials, it was established that Butler had passed out for some time while driving a DoorDash delivery vehicle, and the speed was 73 miles per hour, which was higher than the legal limit between the two. The materials also state that, while the accident was happening, the person did not regain consciousness, and Butler later claimed that he did not know why his vehicle had gone out of control.
According to Reuters materials, Butler would have used the wrong settings, which caused the crash, in which a jury found that he was responsible. The materials also state that, according to the indictment, the defendant had posted on Facebook that he had not been drinking alcohol.
In Reuters materials, it is also noted that Butler was charged with a criminal offense involving the “autopilot” and “full self-driving” systems. The materials also say that, according to the prosecution, Tesla’s system was defective.
Reuters also reports that Tesla disputed Butler’s claims. In particular, the materials say that Tesla said it was impossible for the system to be disabled. In addition, the materials say that Ashok Elluswamy, who heads X’s engineering department, said that the “full self-driving” system had been designed to be able to detect and prevent accidents.
The materials also note that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating the crash, and that since 2016 there have been at least 50 similar Tesla crashes in which, according to the investigation, the driver’s attention was not ensured. The materials also state that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has launched a probe into the crash.
According to the materials, the NHTSA investigation found that the “autopilot” and “full self-driving” systems were defective. In addition, as Reuters notes, Butler also said that the vehicle’s speed was within the allowed limits.