A crashed into two vehicles in the early morning hours of Saturday, December 7, 2019. The accident occurred on I-95 in Norwalk, Connecticut and involved a Connecticut State Police cruiser that was stopped to assist a disabled motorist. The lights of the police cruiser were activated and flares were placed in the roadway, but the driver of the Tesla Model 3 did not see them because the vehicle was set to autopilot while the driver checked on his dog in the backseat.
The Tesla Model 3 almost hit another police cruiser and came to a stop several hundred feet down the road from the initial collision. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries as a result of this accident, unlike a similar incident last year involving a Tesla Model X, in which the driver was killed.
A number of accidents have occurred involving the autopilot feature on Tesla vehicles because drivers believe the car is completely self-driving. However, this is not the case as no car on the market today is fully automated or self-driving. This fact reinforces the need for drivers to use their full attention while driving despite whatever automated capabilities their vehicle may have.
If you or someone you know has been injured as the result of a vehicle being operated in autopilot, contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling 713-231-9360 or toll free at 1‑800-594-4884.