A Tesla model S is plugged into a Tesla supercharger in Berlin's Schoeneberg district on October 3, 2021.
(Photo : ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)
Tesla grabbed the headlines for the wrong reasons yet again after California prosecutors filed two counts of vehicular manslaughter against a driver of one of its electric cars. Kevin George Aziz Riad ran a red light and slammed into another car while using Tesla's Autopilot function in 2019, killing two people in the process.
Riad charged with manslaughter after fatal crash
Riad appears to be the first person charged in the United States with a felony for a deadly crash involving a driver using a vehicle's partially automated driving system. Los Angeles County prosecutors filed manslaughter charges against the defendant back in October, but reporters only got hold of the case last week.
Riad, a limousine service driver, has pleaded not guilty to those charges. The 27-year-old has posted bail and remains free while the aforementioned case is pending. Autopilot's misuse has happened several times, with two federal agencies subjecting it to investigations. Autopilot can control speed, steering, and braking, but that system is now under the microscope after the filing of charges in LA.
This is not the first time that criminal charges have been filed against a motorist using an automated driving system. In 2020, Arizona authorities filed a negligent homicide charge against an Uber driver who took part in testing a fully autonomous vehicle on public roads. The said Uber SUV struck and killed a pedestrian during testing with the homicide charge filed against the vehicle's human backup driver.
Related Article: Stellantis Steals Show at CES With Showcase of Chrysler Airflow EV Concept: Will They Sell This Car?
Riad's felony charges, the first involving Autopilot
However, the criminal charges filed against Riad are the first to feature a widely-used driver technology. Autopilot and other driver-assist systems have been used by motorists on roads across the globe, with around 765,000 Tesla vehicles equipped with this function in the United States alone.
Police authorities said that Riad's Tesla Model S was operating at high speed when the car ran past a red light in Gardena. The fast-moving Tesla then hit a Honda Civic at an intersection of that Los Angeles suburb, resulting in the deaths of Gilberto Alcazar Lopez and Maria Guadalupe Nieves-Lopez. They immediately succumbed to injuries at the scene.
Riad and another woman on board the Tesla were both hospitalized following the incident, but they escaped with non-life-threatening injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent investigators to the crash, and it confirmed last week that Riad used Autopilot in his Tesla at the time of the incident.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the NHTSA have been reviewing several incidents surrounding misuse by drivers of Autopilot. A total of 26 crashes have been investigated by the NHTSA involving Autopilot since 2016, with 11 deaths resulting from those incidents.
READ MORE ON AWN:
Shakeup at Tesla as Company's Top Black Executive Steps Down as HR Chief
Maserati To Race in Formula E for 2023 Season; Provides Major Boost to All-electric Series
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
