— A Tesla Model 3 crash into a Texas home is under investigation by federal safety regulators after the crash killed 76-year-old Martha Avila who was inside the home.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened the probe into the Katy, Texas, crash after Model 3 driver Michael Butler told local authorities the vehicle had an "automated driving assistance system" engaged at the time of the fatal crash.
According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the June 19 crash occurred when the Tesla driver "failed to drive in a single lane, left the roadway, and struck the residence of 1907 Blooming Park Lane."
"Butler's Tesla entered through the brick residence, at a high rate of speed, and struck M. Avila who was inside the residence. Avila was transported via Life Flight to a local hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased due to the injures she sustained from the crash." — Harris County Sheriff’s Office
The sheriff's office also said Mr. Butler showed no signs of intoxication and was cooperating with the investigation.
— You can view video of the Tesla seconds before the crash here.
Two people with Tesla responded to the media frenzy over the crash.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the crash “makes no sense” because “FSD [Full Self-Driving] drives slowly through neighborhood streets and this was a high speed crash!”
Tesla Vice President of Artificial Intelligence Software Ashok Elluswamy said:
“In this case, the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100% of the accel pedal in this residential area. They reached a speed of 73 mph during the crash, and had the accelerator pressed even after the crash.”
The investigation may have just launched but lawyers are already blaming the automaker for the crash.
CarComplaints.com will update our website with results of the federal investigation.
