The driver involved in last month’s fatal Tesla crash in Katy, Texas, has now been charged with manslaughter. The charge marks the first criminal action in the case and comes as investigators continue working to determine exactly what led to the crash.
According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, 44-year old Michael Butler was booked into the Harris County Jail on Wednesday in connection with the June 19 crash that killed 76-year-old Martha Avila.
The crash occurred when Butler’s Tesla Model 3 left the roadway, crossed a lawn, and crashed through the front of Avila’s home at high speed. Avila, who was inside the residence at the time, suffered fatal injuries and was later pronounced dead after being airlifted to hospital.
The case drew attention after Butler reportedly told investigators that Autopilot was engaged at the time of the crash.
However, Tesla has since disputed the claim. Vice President of AI Software Ashok Elluswamy said data from the vehicle showed Butler manually overrode the self-driving system by pressing the accelerator pedal to 100%.
“In this case, the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100% of the accel pedal in this residential area,” Elluswamy wrote on X.
“They reached a speed of 73 mph during the crash, and had the accelerator pressed even after the crash.”
Investigators with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office have previously stated they found no evidence of a mechanical malfunction in the vehicle, while surveillance footage released following the crash showed the Model 3 travelling at a high rate of speed before leaving the roadway.
The crash remains under investigation from both federal transportation agencies. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a Special Crash Investigation shortly after the incident, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) later launched its own investigation.
Meanwhile, Avila’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against both Butler and Tesla, alleging negligence and defects in Tesla’s driver-assistance systems contributed to the crash.
The filing seeks more than US$1 million in damages and requests Tesla preserve all vehicle telemetry, software logs, and driver-assistance data related to the incident.
Always get the latest - make Drive Tesla your preferred source on Google
Are you buying a Tesla? If you enjoy our content and we helped in your decision, use our referral link to get three months of Full Self-Driving (FSD).Drive Tesla uses affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you make a purchase through them, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
