A Tesla logo is pictured on a car in the rain in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, the United States, May 5, 2021. R/Carlo Allegri
WASHINGTON, July 7 (R) – U.S. auto safety agencies have opened a special investigation into a fatal pedestrian accident in California involving a 2018 Tesla (TSLA.O) Model 3 suspected of using an advanced driver assistance system becomes.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) cited the California incident in an emailed update Thursday, but did not identify the specific accident.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported June 7 that a Tesla blew up, hitting and killing a woman. NBC-7 in San Diego said a 39-year-old man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence.
NHTSA had previously opened 35 special accident investigations involving Tesla vehicles suspected of using advanced driver assistance systems such as Autopilot since 2016.
NHTSA typically opens more than 100 Special Accident Investigations each year on new technology and other potential automotive safety issues that previously contributed to the development of airbag safety regulations, for example.
A total of 15 fatalities were reported in these Tesla investigations, including the most recent incident.
Tesla, which has closed its press office, did not respond to a request for comment.
Separately, NHTSA told R it was “aware and in discussions with Tesla” of a crash in Florida on Wednesday that killed a 66-year-old Tesla driver and a 67-year-old passenger.
A 2015 Tesla left a tractor-trailer behind at a rest area off Interstate 75 in the Gainesville area, the Florida Highway Patrol said in a police report. Both people in the Tesla were pronounced dead at the scene.
In June, NHTSA upgraded its defect probe to 830,000 Tesla (TSLA.O) vehicles with Autopilot, a required step before it could request a recall.
NHTSA initiated a preliminary assessment to rate the system’s performance in 765,000 vehicles after about a dozen accidents in which Tesla vehicles struck stopped emergency vehicles — and said last month it had identified six other accidents.
NHTSA Administrator Steven Cliff told R on Wednesday that he wants the Tesla Autopilot investigation “to be completed as soon as possible, but I also want to make things right.” There is a lot of information that we need to comb through.”
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Howard Goller
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