Autopilot from 2019 and Model S

Source: Tesla driver charged with vehicular manslaughter over fatal Autopilot crash | California | The Guardian

California prosecutors have filed two counts of vehicular manslaughter against the driver of a Tesla on Autopilot who ran a red light, slammed into another car and killed two people in 2019.

The defendant appears to be the first person to be charged with a felony in the United States for a fatal crash involving a motorist who was using a partially automated driving system. Los Angeles county prosecutors filed the charges in October, but they came to light only last week.

The National Transportation Safety Board says the driver of a Tesla SUV who died in a Silicon Valley crash two years ago was playing a video game on his smartphone at the time. Chairman Robert Sumwalt said at the start of a hearing Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 that partially automated driving systems like Tesla’s Autopilot cannot drive themselves. Yet he says drivers continue to use them without paying attention. (KTVU-TV via AP, File)

The driver, Kevin George Aziz Riad, 27, has pleaded not guilty. Riad, a limousine service driver, is free on bail while the case is pending.
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In April 2019, I suffered a transient medical condition and AutoPilot kept the car in the lane and speed. Autopilot paid for itself that day.

Bob Wilson