Tesla’s advanced Autopilot driving system malfunctioned and caused one of the electric car maker’s Colorado employees to drive off the road and die in a fiery crash, a newly filed wrongful death lawsuit alleges.
The widow of Hans Von Ohain says her husband was driving back from golfing in Evergreen with a friend on May 16, 2022, when the Autopilot system “unexpectedly caused the 2021 Tesla Model 3 to sharply veer to the right, leading it off the pavement” on Upper Bear Creek Road.
The 33-year-old Von Ohain, who was intoxicated, fought to regain control of the vehicle, “but, to his surprise and horror,” the car drove off the road and into a tree, where it burst into flames, according to the 16-page complaint filed May 3 in Clear Creek County District Court.
The Colorado State Patrol said in its 403-page crash report that the car’s condition after the crash made it impossible to access data to determine whether the self-driving feature was engaged at the time.
But the passenger in the car, Erik Rossiter, who suffered injuries in the crash, told investigators that Von Ohain was using the autonomous drive feature on the trip home, according to the CSP’s final report.
“It was uncomfortable,” he told troopers. “The car would swerve off toward the side of the road periodically and bring itself back.”
The vehicle was traveling 41 mph at the time of the crash, just above the 40 mph speed limit, according to the CSP report.
Von Ohain also used the self-driving feature on the way to the golf course, Rossiter said — a trip he called “a bit nerve-wracking.”
An autopsy report showed the driver’s blood-alcohol level at three times the legal limit. His widow, Nora Bass, told the Washington Post in February that she had been unable to find an attorney to take the case due to his intoxication.
“Regardless of how drunk Hans was, (Tesla CEO Elon) Musk has claimed that this car can drive itself and is essentially better than a human,” Bass told the newspaper. “We were sold a false sense of security.”
Efforts by The Denver Post to reach Bass or her attorney were unsuccessful.
If Von Ohain was, in fact, using the Full Self-Driving feature, it would make his death the first known fatality involving Tesla’s most advanced driver-assistance technology, the Washington Post reported.
Bass and her attorneys allege Tesla knowingly released the self-driving system in vehicles when it was just a prototype and unready for consumers.
Tesla did not respond to messages from The Post seeking comment. Von Ohain worked for the Texas-based carmaker as a recruiter.
Federal regulators have logged more than 900 crashes in Teslas since they began requiring automakers to report accidents in 2021 involving driver-assistance systems, the Washington Post found. At least 40 resulted in serious or fatal injuries.
Tesla’s Autopilot system has been highly controversial and subject to intense scrutiny from authorities and consumers.
In December, the company issued a recall for nearly all of its 2 million U.S. cars aimed at improving driver attention.
Two years ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that the Tesla Autopilot’s features may not have sufficient guardrails to “prevent driver misuse.” The federal probe came after a series of Teslas using the system had run into parked emergency vehicles.
Reuters on Wednesday reported U.S. prosecutors are looking into whether Tesla committed securities or wire fraud by misleading consumers and investors about the technology’s capabilities.
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