Los Angeles County prosecutors have filed two counts of vehicular manslaughter against a man who was driving a Tesla that was on Autopilot when it ran a red light, slammed into another car, and killed two people in 2019.
This seems to be the first case in which someone has been charged with a felony in the United States for a fatal crash involving a motorist who was using a partially automated driving system. The driver, Kevin George Aziz Riad, has pleaded not guilty.
At the time of the accident, police said that the driver was traveling at a high rate of speed, exited a freeway, and ran a red light, striking a Honda Civic and killing that car's two occupants. The families of the victims have filed separate wrongful death lawsuits against Riad, and the limo company his father runs, as well as a products liability lawsuit against Tesla, alleging negligence and manufacturing and design defects. A joint trial has been scheduled for mid-2023.
The misuse of Autopilot, which was designed to control speed, steering, and braking, has occurred in several reported cases, and is the subject of investigations by two federal agencies.
This filing of felony charges could serve as notice to drivers who use Autopilot and other similar systems that they cannot rely on them to control vehicles.
Tesla drivers using the Autopilot feature have hit a highway barrier, a tractor-trailer that was crossing a road, and emergency vehicles.
Editor's Note: We here at ICLC, and at our sister product FC&S, have been critical of Tesla's branding of Autopilot and lack of clarity of the system's capabilities since its inception. The use of the term Autopilot in Tesla vehicles is a misnomer. Autopilot is not a fully automated feature, despite its name. It is intended to only be used with a fully attentive driver behind the wheel. The design is such that it allows drivers to be negligent and has very few safeguards to prevent abuse or negligence on the part of drivers.