Cleaning up after a crash on a motorway in northern California turned fatal on Saturday after a Tesla rammed into a fire truck that was protecting emergency personnel attending to another accident.
The truck was parked on Interstate 680 when the Tesla Model S hit it, killing the driver, according to the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District. Also seriously hurt was a passenger. According to assistant chief Tracie Dutter, four firemen inside the ladder truck were given minor medical attention.
Several images shared on the organization’s Facebook page showed the Tesla’s front end crushed and the $1.4 million truck getting ready to be towed. According to Dutter, the vehicle was stopped diagonally in the northbound lanes of the expressway with its lights on to protect first responders who were attending to a previous accident that did not cause any injuries.
According to The Associated Press, California Highway Patrol Officer Adam Lane stated that it was not immediately known whether the driver was intoxicated or whether the Tesla was using automation or driving assistance functions.
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is actively looking into how Tesla’s Autopilot technology recognizes and reacts to emergency vehicles parked on roads following at least 16 accidents involving parked police or fire cars.
Due to potential problems with “Full Self-Driving” mode, Tesla recalled almost 363,000 vehicles on Thursday. The vehicles affected by the recall were those with FSD Beta software installed or due for installation, including the Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Model Y from 2016 to 2023.
Despite the FSD recall, the NHTSA stated that their “investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot and associated vehicle technologies remains open and active.”
