Tesla driver in Seattle-area crash that killed motorcyclist told police he was using Autopilot
A Tesla that may have been operating on the company’s Autopilot driving system has hit and killed a motorcyclist near Seattle
SEATTLE — A Tesla that may have been operating on the company's Autopilot driving system hit and killed a motorcyclist near Seattle, raising questions about whether a recent recall went far enough to ensure Tesla drivers using Autopilot pay attention to the road.
After the crash Friday in a suburban area about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northeast of the city, the driver of a 2022 Tesla Model S told a Washington State Patrol trooper that he was using Autopilot and looked at his cellphone while the Tesla was moving.
“The next thing he knew there was a bang and the vehicle lurched forward as it accelerated and collided with the motorcycle in front of him," the trooper wrote in a probable-cause document.
The 56-year-old driver was arrested for investigation of vehicular homicide “based on the admitted inattention to driving, while on Autopilot mode, and the distraction of the cell phone while moving forward, putting trust in the machine to drive for him,” the affidavit said.
The Tesla driver told the trooper that he was driving home from having lunch when the crash occurred at about 3:45 p.m.
The motorcyclist, Jeffrey Nissen, 28, of Stanwood, Washington, was under the car and pronounced dead at the scene, authorities reported.
Authorities said they have not yet independently verified whether Autopilot was in use at the time of the crash. “We have not gotten that far yet. It’s very early stages of the investigation,” Washington State Patrol Capt. Deion Glover said Wednesday.
The death comes about four months after U.S. auto safety regulators pressured Tesla into recalling more than 2 million vehicles
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