US agency to launch probe into fatal Florida Tesla crash
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Friday it would launch a special investigation Wednesday into the Florida crash that killed a 66-year-old Tesla driver and a 67-year-old passenger.
The Florida Highway Patrol said a 2015 Tesla rear-ended a parked tractor-trailer in a rest area of Interstate 75 in the Gainesville area. Both Tesla men, who were from Lompoc, California, were pronounced dead at the scene. A patrol spokesman said it was not clear whether the autopilot was in use.
On Thursday, NHTSA confirmed that it had opened a special investigation into a fatal pedestrian accident in California involving the 2018 Tesla Model 3 that was suspected to be in use of an advanced driver assistance system.
NHTSA has previously opened 36 special accident investigations — including the California accident — involving Tesla Inc vehicles suspected of using advanced driver assistance systems such as Autopilot since 2016.
Those Tesla investigations have resulted in a total of 17 accident deaths, including the Florida accident.
NHTSA typically opens more than 100 specialized accident investigations annually into emerging technologies and other potential auto safety issues that, for example, have helped develop safety regulations on the first air bags.
Tesla, which has dissolved its press office, did not respond to a request for comment.
The Florida accident is similar to a series of accidents under investigation by the NHTSA.
In June, NHTSA upgraded its defect checks in 830,000 Tesla vehicles with Autopilot before it could take a necessary step.
NHTSA opened a preliminary assessment to assess the system’s performance in 765,000 vehicles after nearly a dozen crashes in which Tesla vehicles stopped emergency vehicles — and said last month it had identified six additional crashes.
NHTSA Administrator Steven Cliffe told Reuters on Wednesday he wants to complete the Tesla Autopilot investigation “as quickly as possible, but I also want to get it fixed. There’s a lot of information that we need to explore.”