Florida Keys Accident Involving a Tesla Model S Raises Question as to Whether its Autopilot Feature was Engaged
FLORIDA – According to an online news report at miamiherald.com, a team of investigators are examining a tragic accident involving a 2019 Tesla Model S that resulted in the death of a pedestrian on Card Sound Road back in April of this year. The investigators are specifically looking to determine if the vehicle’s semi-autonomous driver function was used when it ran through an intersection and struck a woman, per the Florida Highway Patrol.*
A pedestrian tragically died in a fatal accident that involved a 2019 Tesla Model S. Investigators are trying to determine if its semi-autonomous driver function was engaged at the time of the crash.
The Tesla Model S failed to stop at a three way stop sign intersection at the point where the roadway turns into County Road 905. The Tesla struck a Chevrolet Tahoe pickup truck that was parked on the eastern shoulder of the roadway, which caused this vehicle to spin around and strike a twenty two year old female pedestrian. The force of the impact caused the pedestrian to be thrown from the accident scene about twenty feet into a wooded area. The accident occurred in late April.
A 27 year old male pedestrian was seriously wounded in the accident and was taken by helicopter to an area hospital for treatment. His current condition is unknown at this time.
According to a spokesperson from the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), the agency’s traffic homicide investigators are trying to make a determination as to whether the forty two year old Tesla Model S driver was completely in control of his car at the time of the accident, or if the autopilot feature was engaged.
“The traffic homicide investigation involving the Tesla is still under investigation,” the FHP spokesperson stated. He replied with a “yes” when asked whether the FHP is looking into whether the autopilot feature was engaged at the time of the crash.
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Source:https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-keys/article230945733.html