Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Feds Will Investigate Deadly Tesla Crash in California
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
January 2, 2020

Share

GARDENA — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the crash of a speeding Tesla that killed two people in a Los Angeles suburb, the agency announced Tuesday.
Agency spokesman Sean Rushton wouldn’t say whether the Tesla Model S was on Autopilot when it crashed on Dec. 29 in Gardena. That system is designed to automatically change lanes and keep a safe distance from other vehicles.

An NHTSA statement said the agency has assigned its special crash investigation team to inspect the car and the crash scene.
The black Tesla had left a freeway and was moving at a high rate of speed when it ran a red light and slammed into a Honda Civic at an intersection, police said.
A man and woman in the Civic died at the scene.
A man and woman in the Tesla were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. No arrests were immediately made.
An NHTSA statement said the agency has assigned its special crash investigation team to inspect the car and the crash scene. That team has inspected a total of 13 crashes involving Tesla vehicles that the agency believed were operating on the Autopilot system. Results were published in two of those cases, one of which involved Autopilot. Results are pending in the other 10 cases, the agency said in a statement.
Messages were left Tuesday night seeking comment from Tesla.

Earlier This Month, a Tesla Struck a Police Cruiser

Another Tesla crash killed a woman Sunday in Indiana. State police said the driver, Derrick N. Monet, 25, of Prescott Valley, Arizona, was seriously injured after he rear-ended a fire truck parked along Interstate 70 in Putnam County. His wife, Jenna N. Monet, 23, was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Derrick Monet told investigators he regularly uses his Tesla’s Autopilot mode, but didn’t recall whether he had it activated at the time of the accident, state police Sgt. Matt Ames said.
Earlier this month, a Tesla struck a police cruiser and a disabled vehicle in Connecticut but nobody was seriously hurt. The driver told state police that he was using the Autopilot system and had looked around to check on his dog in the back seat.
Both Tesla and the NHTSA have advised that advanced driver assist systems such as Autopilot aren’t entirely autonomous but require human drivers to pay attention at all times. But several crashes — some fatal — have been blamed on driver inattention linked to overconfidence in such systems. In one crash report, the National Transportation Safety Board referred to it as “automation complacency.”
The National Transportation Safety Board has criticized Tesla’s Autopilot. In September, that agency said that in a 2018 crash in Culver City where a Tesla hit a fire truck, the design of the Autopilot system “permitted the driver to disengage from the driving task.” Nobody was hurt in that accident.
The NTSB determined in September 2017 that design limitations of the Tesla Model S Autopilot played a major role in a May 2016 fatal crash in Florida involving a vehicle operating under Autopilot. But it blamed the crash on an inattentive Tesla driver’s over reliance on technology and a truck driver who made a left turn in front of the car.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law Struck Down by US Appeals Court

DON'T MISS

Voice of America Parent Terminates Over 600 More Staff in Likely Death Knell

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Says It Is Suspending Enforcement of Biden-Era Farmworker Rule

DON'T MISS

Fresno County’s Ruth Fire Destroys Structure in Yokuts Valley

DON'T MISS

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s ‘One-Gun-Per-Month’ Law

DON'T MISS

USDA Develops Potential Plan to Vaccinate Poultry for Bird Flu

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He May Support Israel-Iran Ceasefire ‘Depending on Circumstances’

DON'T MISS

Fresno Now Has a Professional Shakespeare Co. Thanks to Measure P Sales Tax

DON'T MISS

Trump Says a Deal With Harvard Is Possible Over Next Week

DON'T MISS

Ohio Man Charged for Allegedly Threatening US Congressman Max Miller

UP NEXT

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s ‘One-Gun-Per-Month’ Law

UP NEXT

Police, DA Refuse to Release Records on Latina Senator’s DUI Arrest Near Capitol

UP NEXT

US Supreme Court Lets Fuel Producers Challenge California Emissions Standards

UP NEXT

US Court Lets Trump Keep Control of California National Guard for Now

UP NEXT

Massive Security Breach: 16 Billion Passwords Leaked From Apple, Google, Facebook Accounts

UP NEXT

Hunger Strike Begins as California Prisons Hand Down Biggest Restrictions Since COVID

UP NEXT

CA Prison Union Strikes $600 Million Contract With Newsom That Includes Furloughs

UP NEXT

California Man Accused of Planting Cameras in Children’s Dance Studio Bathroom

UP NEXT

California Men Arrested in Largest Jewelry Heist in US History

UP NEXT

Musk Shares Negative Drug Test Results, Challenges Media Outlets

Fresno County’s Ruth Fire Destroys Structure in Yokuts Valley

8 hours ago

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s ‘One-Gun-Per-Month’ Law

8 hours ago

USDA Develops Potential Plan to Vaccinate Poultry for Bird Flu

8 hours ago

Trump Says He May Support Israel-Iran Ceasefire ‘Depending on Circumstances’

8 hours ago

Fresno Now Has a Professional Shakespeare Co. Thanks to Measure P Sales Tax

8 hours ago

Trump Says a Deal With Harvard Is Possible Over Next Week

8 hours ago

Ohio Man Charged for Allegedly Threatening US Congressman Max Miller

8 hours ago

Town Hall Unveils New Season With Best-Selling Authors, ‘Jeopardy!’ Host, and More

9 hours ago

Trump Says His Spy Chief Gabbard Wrong on Iran’s Nuclear Program

10 hours ago

Fresno Police Investigate Fatal Shooting, Seek Public’s Help

10 hours ago

Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law Struck Down by US Appeals Court

A federal appeals court on Friday blocked Louisiana from enforcing a law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms of ...

6 hours ago

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill leaves the U.S. Supreme Court after justices heard arguments in an appeal by President Joe Biden's administration of restrictions imposed by lower courts on its ability to encourage social media companies to remove content deemed misinformation, in Washington, U.S., March 18, 2024. (Reuters File)
6 hours ago

Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law Struck Down by US Appeals Court

A view of the Voice of America (VOA) building, a day after more than 1,300 of the employees of the media broadcaster, which operates in almost 50 languages, were placed on leave in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 16, 2025. (Reuters File)
6 hours ago

Voice of America Parent Terminates Over 600 More Staff in Likely Death Knell

A farmworker repairs irrigation lines at a tomato farm in Woodland, California, U.S. May 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
7 hours ago

Trump Administration Says It Is Suspending Enforcement of Biden-Era Farmworker Rule

The Ruth Fire in Yokuts Valley has burned 14 acres, destroyed one structure on Friday, June 20, 2025,, and is 20% contained as firefighters continue battling the blaze in steep terrain. (CalFire)
8 hours ago

Fresno County’s Ruth Fire Destroys Structure in Yokuts Valley

A federal appeals court struck down California’s “one-gun-per-month” law Friday, June 20, 2025, in a 3-0 decision, ruling it unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. (Shutterstock)
8 hours ago

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s ‘One-Gun-Per-Month’ Law

Cage-Free chickens are shown inside a facility in Lakeside, California, U.S., April 19, 2022. Picture taken April 19, 2022. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

USDA Develops Potential Plan to Vaccinate Poultry for Bird Flu

President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One upon his arrival at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, U.S., June 20, 2025. (Reuters/Ken Cedeno)
8 hours ago

Trump Says He May Support Israel-Iran Ceasefire ‘Depending on Circumstances’

8 hours ago

Fresno Now Has a Professional Shakespeare Co. Thanks to Measure P Sales Tax

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend