Tesla driver using autopilot mode charged with vehicular homicide in death of motorcyclist
NY Post
A Washington man has been arrested and charged with vehicular homicide after a Tesla in autopilot mode slammed into a motorcyclist, killing him.
The crash happened around 3:45 p.m. Friday in Maltby, Washington, according to a Washington State Patrol incident summary.
The Tesla Model S driver, identified in court documents obtained by FOX 13 Seattle as 56-year-old Carl Hunter, told first responders the vehicle in autopilot mode “lurched forward as it accelerated and collided with the motorcycle in front of him.”
The motorcyclist, 28-year-old Jeff Nissen of Stanwood, was pronounced dead at the crash site.
Investigators say he was ejected from atop the bike before being run over by the Tesla.
“[Jeff] was such a loving person, such a loving uncle. He loved his nieces and nephews,” Nissen’s sister, Jenessa Fagerlie, told FOX 13.
