Tesla driver says he was asleep when he hit a patrol car
A Tesla hit a parked California Highway Patrol car on Interstate 80 in Fairfield this week, and two officers inside were badly hurt. The 22-year-old driver said he was asleep with a driver-assist system on, the patrol said. Both officers have since left the hospital.
A Tesla drove through a closed section of Interstate 80 in Fairfield, California, this week and slammed into a parked California Highway Patrol car, seriously injuring two officers inside, the patrol said.
The 22-year-old driver from Sacramento said at the scene that he was asleep while the car's driver-assistance software was engaged, KQED, KCRA and CBS News reported. KQED and CBS News said he named Tesla's Full Self-Driving feature.
The crash happened at about 11:46 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13, on eastbound I-80 near Air Base Parkway, the patrol said in its account of the crash. Officers there were handling an earlier crash that killed a 19-year-old San Pablo man, CBS News reported, and lanes had been closed off with flares and cones. Dashcam video released by the patrol on Thursday shows the Tesla driving past the flares and cones and into the back of the patrol car, KQED and CBS News reported.
Two officers standing behind the car ran out of the way, KQED reported. The two officers inside spent the night in a hospital and were released the next day, KQED reported. KCRA also reported that they had been released. The Tesla driver had minor injuries, KQED and CBS News reported, and investigators said he was not impaired, according to KQED.
"Technology does not relieve drivers of their responsibility to safely operate their vehicles," the patrol said in a statement quoted by KQED and CBS News. The patrol noted that despite its name, Full Self-Driving is a driver-assistance system that requires the driver to stay alert.
"It's pretty alarming," a patrol spokesperson said, according to KQED. He said investigators would download the car's data and footage. "There's no specific law that says if you sleep while operating a full self-driving vehicle, this is the crime," he said, adding that the patrol could ask the state to revoke the driver's license.
Tesla did not respond to KQED's request for comment. Federal safety regulators said Friday they were investigating the crash, NBC News reported.
What we know: Two officers were seriously hurt when a Tesla whose driver said he was asleep hit their patrol car.
What we don't: Whether the driver will face charges and what federal investigators will find.
Where outlets agree KQED, KCRA and CBS News report that a 22-year-old Sacramento driver who said he was asleep with driver-assistance engaged crashed into a California Highway Patrol car on I-80 in Fairfield, seriously injuring two officers inside.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.