(Bloomberg) – Pennsylvania State Police have cited the driver of a Tesla Motors Inc. sport utility vehicle involved in a July 1 crash for careless driving, according to a report released Monday.
Michigan driver Albert Scaglione, 77, suffered injuries when his 2016 Tesla Model X SUV struck a concrete median strip on a Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bedford County and rolled onto its roof, coming to rest in the middle of the roadway.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said last week that it's "collecting information" from state police, the automaker and the driver to ascertain "whether automated functions were in use at the time." The Detroit Free Press had quoted a police officer saying the driver told him the so-called Autopilot system was engaged when the accident occurred. The state police on Monday doesn't mention whether the system was in use.
Autopilot still in beta testing
At least 70,000 Tesla vehicles with Autopilot — Tesla's name for its driver-assistance system that maintains a vehicle's position in a well-marked lane and adjusts speed to match surrounding traffic — are on the road worldwide, though it is still in so-called beta testing. Drivers have to actively engage Autopilot, and the vehicles warn motorists to keep their hands on the wheel.
In May, 40-year-old Joshua Brown of Ohio was killed when his Tesla Model S drove under the trailer of an 18-wheeler on a highway near Williston, Florida. In a blog post, Tesla stressed that the crash was the first known fatality in more than 130 million miles of Autopilot driving, compared to 94 million miles for all cars.
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