Police: Pennsylvania Teen’s Tesla Had ‘Autopilot’ Engaged When It Crashed into Traffic Control Truck

A Tesla vehicle driven by an 18-year-old teen with its “Autopilot” engaged crashed into a stationary truck providing construction lane control on a Pennsylvania highway, intensifying scrutiny on Elon Musk’s driver assistance system.

Reuters reports that a Tesla car driven by an 18-year-old, running on its Autopilot software, hit a stationary truck on a Pennsylvania highway this week, casting further doubt on the safety of the automaker’s driver assistance system.

This incident happened late last Friday night. According to the police report, the Tesla was cruising in the middle lane when it rammed into the back of a truck parked in the same lane. The truck was there to control traffic due to a closure in the right lane.

Law enforcement officials stated that the vehicle’s driver, an 18-year-old male, was charged with “careless driving” but attributed the cars loss of control to being on Autopilot.

Despite the serious collision, no injuries were reported. However, this incident has stirred up more questions about the safety of Tesla’s Autopilot system.

This isn’t a one-off event. It’s the latest in a series of accidents where Tesla vehicles, equipped with Autopilot, have crashed into stationary emergency vehicles. These incidents have spurred U.S. regulators to launch a series of investigations into the safety and reliability of Tesla’s Autopilot system.

Breitbart News previously reported that a Tesla driver who was suspected of using Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” automated driving system crashed into a fire truck in the Bay Area, killing the driver and injuring multiple firefighters on Interstate 680 in Contra Costa County, California. The fire engine “was stopped at the rear of the scene to protect personnel and assist in traffic diverting,” the California High Patrol wrote on Facebook.

The Wall Street Journal reports that early in the morning on February 18, a Contra Costa County Fire Protection District fire truck was parked across two lanes of Intestate 680 to block traffic while first responders assisted with the towing of a disabled vehicle when a Tesla vehicle smashed into it. A passenger in the Tesla was taken to the hospital in critical condition, while the driver of the electric car was pronounced dead at the scene. All four of the truck’s firefighters had their seatbelts on, and were taken to the hospital with luckily minor injuries.

 

Tesla has not yet responded to requests for comment on the incident.

Read more at Reuters here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan