A federal jury has charged the driver of a Tesla on Autopilot who ran a red light and collided with another car, which resulted in the death of two people in 2019.
As per the police records, on December 29, 2019, the Tesla Model S ran a red light in the Los Angeles suburb of Gardena and struck a Honda Civic. This resulted in the instant death of the two passengers in the Honda Civic, and the defendants were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
The documents provided at the court do not mention Autopilot, whereas a team of investigators sent by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed that the Tesla car was on Autopilot mode at the time of the crash.
The car crash is not the first of its kind, but the defendant is the first one to be charged with the felony, which involved a partially automated driving system. The charges have been filed by the Los Angeles County prosecutors in the last year of October, but they came to notice only last week.
The defendant's attorney refused to comment on the case. Even the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office denied discussing the case. The preliminary hearing in the case has been scheduled for February 23.
Earlier, many such crashes have taken place due to the use of Autopilot with allegations against the company of not providing safe vehicles which are Autopilot enabled. Tesla has even upgraded its software for more safety in terms of its advanced technology of Autopilot.
