Tesla Driver Charged With 2 Counts of Vehicular Manslaughter
A Tesla driver has been charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter following a 2019 collision that killed two people while Autopilot was engaged.
Defendant Kevin George Aziz Riad, 27, appears to be the first person in the US charged with a felony for a fatal crash involving a partially automated driving system, according to the Associated Press.
On Dec. 29, 2019, Riad, moving "at a high speed," reportedly ran a red light in the Los Angeles suburb of Gardena, striking a Honda Civic at the intersection. Passengers Gilberto Alcazar Lopez and Maria Guadalupe Nieves-Lopez died at the scene; Riad and a woman in the Tesla were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Initially filed in October, California prosecutors' charges emerged only last week. Associated documents don't mention Autopilot, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), as reported by AP, recently confirmed the technology was in use at the time of the crash. Limousine service driver Riad pleaded not guilty and is free on bail while the case is pending; a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 23.
The families of the deceased have sued Riad for negligence, and Tesla, accusing the firm of selling defective vehicles. A joint trial is scheduled for mid-2023. Tesla did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment.
The automaker's advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS), which controls steering, acceleration, and braking, has been blamed for fatal crashes in the past. In March 2019, a Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot engaged collided with a semi-trailer, shearing off the sedan's roof and killing the driver. The motorist's hands, according to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report, were not detected on the
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