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U.S. safety board says driver, passenger seats occupied during fatal Tesla crash

Local police had previously indicated driver seat was empty, suggested Autopilot may have been in use

David Shepardson, Reuters
Oct 23, 2021  •  October 23, 2021  •  1 minute read  •  Join the conversation
The remains of a Tesla vehicle are seen after it crashed in The Woodlands, Texas, April 17, 2021, in this still image from video obtained via social media.
The remains of a Tesla vehicle are seen after it crashed in The Woodlands, Texas, April 17, 2021, in this still image from video obtained via social media. Photo by Scott J. Engle /Reuters

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Thursday that both the driver and passenger seats were occupied during an April 17 fatal crash of a Tesla Model S in Spring, Texas.

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In contrast, local police previously said witness statements suggested there was nobody in the driver’s seat when the car crashed into a tree and killed the two occupants.

The NTSB said a review of vehicle data indicates “both the driver and the passenger seats were occupied, and that the seat belts were buckled when the (event data recorder) recorded the crash.”

Based on a forensic examination of the steering wheel and information from the car’s event data recorder, the vehicle reached a speed of 67 mph (107 km/h) during the five seconds leading up to the crash, NTSB added.

The NTSB also said data indicates “the driver was applying the accelerator in the time leading up to the crash; application of the accelerator pedal was found to be as high as 98.8 per cent.”

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Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The crash raised new alarms about Tesla’s driver assistance system Autopilot in April after Harris County Constable Mark Herman said “We have witness statements from people that said they left to test drive the vehicle without a driver and to show the friend how it can drive itself.”

Herman’s office did not immediately comment Thursday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is also investigating the crash, declined to comment.

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