The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has closed an investigation into a fatal crash involving a white Tesla Model 3 in Saratoga, California last August.
The incident saw the Model 3, driven by a 75-year-old man, repeatedly hit a minivan on a California highway before the car sped down an off-ramp, crashed into a pickup truck and caught fire. The driver of the Tesla, David Alan Brown, was killed in the crash, as was his wife, while five others were injured.
The NTSB investigation concluded that the Tesla struck the pickup truck at approximately 110 mph (177 km/h). The Autopilot system was engaged but the driver was manually pressing the accelerator pedal, causing the vehicle to go into override mode when it struck the minivan, Auto News reports.
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It is understood that the Tesla issued multiple visual and audible alerts to the driver as his hands were not detected on the steering wheel while using Autopilot.
The investigation found that the Model 3 was traveling at around 68 mph (109 km/h) behind the minivan when the driver increased the speed to 72 mph (116 km/h). The car triggered its Automatic Emergency Braking system but the driver increased accelerator pressure to 95 per cent and struck the rear of the minivan. The car reached 114 mph (183 km/h) prior to hitting the pickup.
In a statement, the NTSB said the “investigation was initiated to support the NTSB’s interest in automated vehicle performance” and confirmed that “no further action beyond this memorandum will be taken.”
