Police charged a Tesla driver allegedly using the autopilot feature with vehicular homicide after a fatal collision Friday killed a motorcyclist, Fox 13 reported, citing court documents.
Authorities arrested Carl Hunter, 56, who allegedly struck and killed the motorcyclist in Maltby, Washington, while looking down at his phone. The victim, Jeff Nissen, 28, was declared dead at the scene. He was ejected from his motorcycle and subsequently run over by the Tesla, according to Fox Business.
Tesla driver using autopilot mode charged with vehicular homicide in death of motorcyclist https://t.co/YCLgGSsp5f pic.twitter.com/g3VFdOLmFN
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Hunter allegedly informed first responders that his vehicle suddenly accelerated and collided with Nissen’s motorcycle. Although Hunter admitted to consuming a drink of alcohol prior to driving, he passed all sobriety tests administered at the scene, the outlet stated. Investigators determined that distracted driving was a contributing factor.
The fiancé of the victim, Janae Hutchinson, spoke to KIRO 7 News. Hutchinson said she checked Nissen’s location on her phone twice that afternoon as he returned home from work. She immediately called him after noticing he stopped at the accident’s location. (RELATED: ‘Lodged In A Windshield’: Five Killed In Four Christmas Crashes In Single Metro Area)
“I immediately knew something wasn’t right. He would always call me if he was going to be later than I expected,” she told KIRO 7 News. “I was going to make dinner for him. I didn’t want anyone to confirm it because it couldn’t be happening to me because he was coming home.”
PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 05: A Tesla Model S car is displayed at a Tesla showroom on November 5, 2013 in Palo Alto, California. Tesla will report third quarter earnings today after the closing bell. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
She blames both the driver and Tesla for the deadly crash.
“I was so angry that someone could feel comfortable enough to rely on their vehicle to move them through traffic, and that they thought they could look at their phone, and just a split second, it took somebody’s life,” she added. “I dislike it [autopilot]. I think it’s an easy feature to become comfortable with and allow you to think that I can just look at my phone real quick or the car will alert me if something happens.”
She urged Tesla to enhance its safety features to prevent further tragedies. The incident coincides with Tesla’s promotion of its latest “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” technology, which is currently being offered to Tesla owners in the U.S. and Canada through a free 30-day trial.
“It will make lane changes, select forks to follow your navigation route, navigate around other vehicles and objects, and make left and right turns,” Tesla’s release notes on the app reads