DETROIT — Virginia authorities have determined that a Tesla was operating on its Autopilot system and speeding in the moments leading up to a crash with a crossing tractor-trailer last July, killing the Tesla driver.
The death of Pablo Teodoro III, 57, is the third since 2016 in which a Tesla using Autopilot drove under a crossing tractor-trailer, raising questions about the safety of the partially automated system and where it should be allowed to operate.
The crash south of Washington remains under investigation by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which sent investigators to Virginia last summer and launched a broader probe into Autopilot more than two years ago.
Jeffrey Long, spokesman for the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office, said Tuesday that investigators determined Autopilot was in use on Teodoro’s Tesla Model Y by downloading information from the vehicle’s event data recorder.
Sheriff’s investigators used a search warrant to gain access to the recorder in late July. Authorities released some of the results this week after a request by The Associated Press.
The Tesla was travelling 70 mph (112.7 kilometres per hour) on four-lane U.S. 29 near Opal, 25 mph over the 45 mph speed limit in that area, Long said. The road has a median and is accessible at intersections and from driveways.
Long said Teodoro took action in the second before the crash, but he was not sure if that disengaged the system. He did not know what action Teodoro took, but said the brakes were applied just one second before impact, which slowed the vehicle slightly.
He said he could not release the speed at impact or say whether Teodoro or the Tesla applied the brakes because his office is working with NHTSA on its ongoing investigation.
Before the crash, the Tesla warned Teodoro to take control of the car because it had detected something in the way. But neither the car, which is equipped with automatic emergency braking, nor Teodoro stopped in time to avoid the crash.
Long said an accident investigator’s analysis of the data recorder “indicated that the system was aware of something in the roadway and was sending messages” to the driver.
“Our investigation also determined that the driver would have had sufficient time and distance to avoid the accident if he had been travelling at the speed limit,” Long said in a statement. “The full investigation concluded that the driver would have had more than adequate time to brake and even come to a complete stop.”
The truck driver in the crash was initially charged with reckless driving for creating a traffic hazard, Long said, but the charge was dropped in October by the Commonwealth’s Attorney at the request of the Sheriff’s Office.
Under Virginia law, a driver gives up the legal right of way when he violates the speed limit, Long said.
The tractor-trailer was pulling from a truck stop onto the highway at the time of the crash, authorities said.
In October, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board called on Tesla to limit where Autopilot can operate and to put in place a better system to ensure drivers are paying attention.
Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy wrote to CEO Elon Musk, pointing out that her agency’s investigation into a similar semi truck crash in 2016 found that Tesla allowed its vehicles to operate on Autopilot on roads where it wasn’t designed to operate safely. An NTSB spokesman said Tuesday that Musk had not responded to Homendy’s letter.
Tesla did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Its website says Autopilot and a more sophisticated “full self-driving” system cannot drive by themselves and are meant to assist drivers, who must be ready to intervene at any time.
With Autopilot, a Tesla can steer, accelerate and brake automatically in its lane, the website says.
In a statement posted Monday on X, formerly Twitter, Tesla said safety is stronger when Autopilot is engaged.
The Virginia crash brings to 35 the number of Tesla crashes under investigation by the NHTSA since June 2016. In all cases, the agency suspects the Teslas were operating with a partially automated driving system. At least 17 people have been killed.
Recent crashes investigated by NHTSA include a head-on collision between a Tesla Model 3 and a Subaru Impreza in South Lake Tahoe, California, on 5 July. The driver of the Subaru and an infant in the Tesla were killed.
The NHTSA also sent investigators to a 15 March crash in Halifax County, North Carolina, that injured a 17-year-old high school student. The State Highway Patrol said at the time that the driver of the 2022 Tesla Model Y, a 51-year-old man, failed to stop for the bus, which had all its warning devices activated.
