VIDEO: Tesla on autopilot slams into tree in Texas, catches on fire, killing two people
Two men died inside a Tesla Model S that was speeding along a Texas street without anyone behind the wheel when the vehicle slammed right into a tree and also sparked a huge fire.
The crash took place around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday late at night in The Woodlands which is a community in Houston, with a fiery blaze that lasted for 4 hours long.
One of the guys was discovered in the front passenger seat while the other remained in the rear seats, Harris County Constable Mark Herman said. The expensive car has an “autopilot” feature, though it had not been promptly clear if it was active.
“With the physical evidence and the things of that nature on the scene, that night the position of the bodies the trajectory of the impact, they are 100% certain that no one was in the driver seat driving that vehicle at the time of impact. They are positive,” Herman stated.
“And again, the height from the back seat to the front seat, that would be almost impossible, but again our investigators are trained to handle collisions. Several of our folks are reconstructionists, but they feel very confident just with the positioning of the bodies after the impact that there was no one driving that vehicle.”
Officials only verified that a person who died was 59 years of age and the other was aged 69.
Police stated the fast-moving, completely electrical Tesla remained in a cul-de-sac when it was unable to navigate a turn and also sped up right into close-by timbers, then struck a tree, with the crash sparking the automobile’s batteries on fire.
The 2019 car owner’s brother-in-law claimed his family member had actually taken the vehicle out for a spin with a buddy when it lost control, crashed, and then caught on fire, with family members watching in misery as the fire burned the outside of their residence, KPRC reported.
Firefighters pumped greater than 30,000 gallons of water onto the flames before they were extinguished, according to USA Today.
When the fire was ultimately snuffed, authorities stated they discovered the bodies inside.
Images of the aftermath show just a skeleton of the car remained.
Tesla urges as advice to vehicle drivers utilizing its “advanced driver-assistance system” need to still be aware and prepared to take control of the wheel.
“Autopilot and full self-driving capability are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment,” Tesla states on its website.
There is also the issue of drivers not keeping the autopilot software up to date, which media seemingly never brings up as a factor or issue in these crashes.
