2 Men Killed in Tesla Crash — and Tx. Police Believe the Car May Have Been on Autopilot: Reports

A 2019 Tesla Model S.Photo: David Zalubowski/AP/Shutterstock

Two men died after their Tesla crashed into a tree and caught fire — and the car may have been on autopilot, authorities told multiple outlets.

The fatal incident unfolded on Saturday evening around 11:25 p.m. in the Carlton Woods subdivision of Spring, according to CBS affiliateKHOU.

Harris County Pct. 4 Constable Mark Herman told the local outlet that a 2019 Tesla Model S was driving at a high rate of speed with two men, ages 59 and 69, inside when it came to a slight curve on the roadway.

The Tesla then drove about 100 feet off the roadway and collided with a tree before it burst into flames, Herman toldThe New York Times.

Firefighters quickly arrived on the scene, where they worked to put out the massive blaze, KHOU reported.

It ultimately took close to four hours, more than 30,000 gallons of water and a phone call to Tesla asking how to properly extinguish the flames before the fire was finally put out, Herman told KHOU.

“Normally when the fire department arrives, they have the vehicle fire in control in minutes,” Herman explained to the Houston-based outlet. “But this went on close to four hours.”

Tesla did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Officials also collected physical evidence at the scene and conducted interviews with witnesses, theTimesreported.

One of their interviews was with the victim’s wives, who said they were with them minutes before the crash and noted that the men were discussing the Tesla vehicle’s Autopilot feature, according to theTimes.

Based on their information, Herman confirmed toCNNthat officials believe no one was behind the wheel during the incident, telling the outlet: “I can tell you our investigators are certain no one was in the driver’s seat at the time of the crash.”

Herman also told KHOU that investigators “are 100 percent certain that no one was in the driver seat driving that vehicle at the time of impact. They are positive. The height from the back seat to the front seat, that would be almost impossible.”

“But again our investigators are trained. They handle collisions,” Herman continued. “Several of our folks are reconstructionists, but they feel very confident just with the positioning of the bodies after the impact that there was no one driving that vehicle.”

Herman — who did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment — told KHOU that the incident remains under investigation.

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Tesla’s Autopilot is designed to use ultrasonic sensors, eight cameras around the vehicle and a forward-facing radar to drive itself on roadways with no person in the driver’s seat,according to the company’s website.

The crash came just hours after Tesla CEO,Elon Musk, tweeted, “Tesla with Autopilot engaged now approaching 10 times lower chance of accident than average vehicle.”

However, the company notes on their site that the “current Autopilot features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous.”

In March, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was investigating 23 crashes involving Tesla vehicles that were either using Autopilot or may have been using it, according to theTimes.

There have also been concerns about the batteries used inside the electric vehicles and the threat they pose to first responders, theTimesreported.

Mitchell Weston, the chief investigator at the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office, told the outlet that the electric vehicle’s batteries are “generally safe” but may cause “thermal runaway” during collisions that occur at high speeds.

According to Weston, thermal runaway can cause “uncontrolled contact” between different materials in the batteries and can lead to fires or “battery reignition” even after the flames are extinguished.

source: people.com