WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — A Tesla driver was killed and a passenger was critically wounded Saturday when the automobile plowed into a firetruck that was parked on a Northern California freeway to shield a crew clearing yet another incident, fire officials mentioned.
Four firefighters who had been in the truck when it was struck on Interstate 680 had been dealt with for insignificant injuries, said Tracie Dutter, assistant chief of the Contra Costa County Hearth Safety District.
The driver was declared useless at the scene, Dutter said. The auto needed to be slice open up to remove the passenger, who was taken to the hospital.
Shots confirmed the entrance stop of the motor vehicle was crushed and the $1.4 million ladder truck was destroyed.
California Highway Patrol Officer Adam Lane stated it was not obvious whether or not the driver may well have been intoxicated or whether the Tesla Design S was running with automation or driving assistance attributes.
The Nationwide Highway Visitors Safety Administration is investigating how Tesla’s Autopilot process detects and responds to crisis autos parked on highways. At least 14 Teslas have crashed into crisis cars though employing the system.
Dutter mentioned the truck had its lights on and was parked diagonally on northbound lanes of the freeway to defend responders to an before incident that did not result in accidents.
The fatal incident transpired close to 4 a.m., and it took several hrs to distinct the freeway. The firetruck experienced to be towed away.
The Design S was amid the practically 363,000 vehicles Tesla recalled on Thursday for the reason that of prospective flaws in its “Full Self-Driving” technique. Though the remember is aimed at correcting doable problems at intersections and with pace limits, it will come amid a broader investigation by U.S. safety regulators into Tesla’s automatic driving programs.
