NEW YORK, United States | One person was indeed behind the wheel in a fatal Tesla collision in Texas in April, contrary to what local police initially said, the U.S. Highway Safety Agency said in a preliminary report Thursday.
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A local police official assured local media just after the accident that, according to the first elements of the investigation, there was apparently no driver when the vehicle crashed into a tree in Spring, in the suburbs of Houston on April 17. The car caught fire shortly after.
This episode then shone the spotlight on the driving assistance systems offered by Tesla, with many videos on social networks showing how easy it was to drive a Tesla equipped with certain options without even having to sit down. behind the wheel.
Data retrieved from the car “indicates that the driver and passenger seats were occupied” and that “the seat belts were on” at the time of the collision, the United States National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB ).
The “deformations” observed on the steering wheel “are due to an impact”, also noted the agency.
The report also confirms that the car was traveling fast, up to nearly 108 km / h on a suburban suburban lane in the 5 seconds before the impact.
In a previous report, the NTSB explained that footage from a home security camera showed the owner getting into the driver’s seat of the car and the passenger in the front passenger seat and the car then had rode about 170 yards before leaving the road on a bend.
The NTSB then assured that the driver assistance software could not be activated at the time of the collision.
Tesla quickly defended himself after the accident, assuring that it was “probable” that a person was indeed behind the wheel at the time of the collision and that his driver assistance software was not activated.
Contacted by AFP, the office of the head of the local police, which is conducting its own investigation, declined to comment.
The NTSB stressed Thursday that the investigation was not completed and that the elements of the preliminary reports should not lead to conclusions on the causes of the accident.