Tesla owner hit with vehicular manslaughter charges due to Autopilot

Tesla driver is charged vehicular manslaughter after running a red light on Autopilot

Electrek.co by Fred Lambert

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[{"selector":"#anim-2305ce50-a4d1-418d-80f4-c501927f4c3e","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] This is likely the first time that a driver is charged with a felony for something that happened while using semi-autonomous driving features available to customers.

[{"selector":"#anim-957dda09-876e-4108-85e3-1f9b39efd2e7","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] The incident happened back in 2019 in Gardena, a suburb of Los Angeles, but it is now coming to light after legal documents reveal the charges filed last October.

[{"selector":"#anim-994589f7-2c51-4d7a-aa6c-e8e7d0f870af","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Kevin George Aziz Riad, a 27-year-old limousine driver, was using his Tesla Model S on Autopilot when he ran a red light and crashed into a Honda Civic, killing the two occupants, Gilberto Alcazar Lopez and Maria Guadalupe Nieves-Lopez.

An occupant in the Model S was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

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[{"selector":"#anim-65f9b9f7-4644-4578-84ff-406a312ddcc9","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] California prosecutors have filed two counts of vehicular manslaughter against the driver of a Tesla on Autopilot who ran a red light, slammed into another car and killed two people in 2019.

[{"selector":"#anim-1601ec36-e84e-4814-b905-8ed195550fc6","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] The use of Autopilot was confirmed by an NHTSA investigation into the crash, but it is not mentioned by the prosecutors as the driver is always responsible for the vehicle when behind the wheel.

Learn more about the Tesla autopilot vehicular manslaughter charges and read Electrek's take at Electrek.co.

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