A Detroit man informed police his 2016 Tesla Model X was in autopilot mode when it crash and rolled over on the Pennsylvania Turnpike last Friday.
Albert Scaglione, 77, a Detroit art gallery owner, was traveling with his son-in-law, Tim Yanke, on the Pennsylvania Turnpike when his Tesla vehicle crashed and rolled over. The Daily Caller News Foundation has not been able to reach Scaglione, but according to the Detroit Free Press, Dale Vukovich of the Pennsylvania State Police responded to the crash and said that Scaglione told him that he had activated the autopilot feature.
Vukovich filled out a crash report, and according to the Detroit Free Press, Vukovich stated that, “Scaglione’s car was traveling east near mile marker 160 at about 5 p.m. when it hit a guard rail off the right side of the roadway. It then crossed over the eastbound lanes and hit the concrete median.”
After hitting the median, the Tesla Model X rolled on its roof and came to a stop in the middle eastbound lane. The Pennsylvania State Police will have to investigate whether or not the vehicle was in autopilot at the time, and if it was, it will add to concerns over automated vehicles and connected cars technology. According to the Detroit News, both Scaglione and Yanke were injured in the accident, but the report says the severity is unknown.
Tesla told TheDCNF it received a message from the car July 1 indicating a crash event, but logs were never transmitted. “No data at this point to indicate that Autopilot was engaged or not engaged.” Tesla asserted that as it does with all crash events, it immediately reached out to the customer to confirm they were alright and offer support, but were unable to reach Scaglione. “We have since attempted to contact the customer three times by phone without success. It is not possible to learn more without access to the vehicle’s onboard logs.”
The crash came just one day after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a report on a fatal crash May 7 involving a Tesla that was in autopilot mode. Joshua D. Brown, 40, died in Williston, Fla., when his car’s cameras failed to distinguish the white side of a turning tractor-trailer from a brightly lit sky and didn’t automatically activate the brakes, according to statements by both the government and from Tesla. The New York Post reported that Brown was watching a Harry Potter movie while the car was in autopilot mode.
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