North Carolina sheriff’s deputy and a state trooper’s lucky escape has been revealed in newly released footage.
In August 2020, the two law enforcement officers were forced to jump to safety after aTeslaon autopilot struck a parked cruiser causing it to fly off the road and clip them in North Carolina, according to the Nash County Sheriff’s Office.
The driver of the car was allegedly watching a movie at the time incident, officials tell PEOPLE.
“A year and a half ago, one of our Deputies and an NC State Trooper narrowly escaped serious injury when a Tesla driving on autopilot struck one of our vehicles,” the Sheriff’s Office said in aFacebook postTuesday. “The Deputy had stopped to assist the Trooper on a wreck scene, when the Tesla plowed into the back of our patrol unit.”
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The Tesla driver was initially charged with not moving over for an emergency vehicle and distracted driving, but those charges have since been dropped, officials confirmed to PEOPLE.
Tesla did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The autopilot feature on Teslas requires active driver supervision and is not designed to make the car autonomous.
The release of the dashcam footage comes days after Tesla announced it would recall 53,822 vehicles due to its “full self-driving” feature being programmed to slowly roll through stop signs in some instances, according toCNN.
In September, The United States Department of Transportation launched a preliminary investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot driver assistance system after several crashes in which drivers in Tesla vehicles havestruck stopped emergency vehicles, according toConsumer Reports.
These crashes have been responsible for 17 injuries and one death, the outlet reported.
In October, aletterfrom the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the investigation would examine how Tesla’s Autopilot system operates and its ability to recognize obstacles in the road.
source: people.com
