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Tesla with Autopilot crashes into police car in Fullerton – NBC Los Angeles

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A Tesla in self-driving mode collided with a patrol car during a traffic stop in Fullerton, causing a fatal accident, authorities said Thursday.

The incident occurred after midnight at the intersection of Orangethorpe and Courtney Avenue while a Fullerton Police officer was investigating the previous crash involving a driver under the influence of alcohol.

Investigators said that as the patrol officer was directing traffic at the intersection, the Tesla drove into the accident scene and crashed into the patrol car, which was parked horizontally to block traffic. The officer, who quickly jumped from the scene, was able to avoid injury.

The officer’s bodycam footage shows him running away to avoid being hit by the Tesla. The collision was also recorded by a surveillance camera at a nearby house.

The Tesla driver admitted to using his cell phone and turning on his car’s autopilot mode.

This accident is another collision caused by Tesla’s autopilot mode.

The company has been under fire since its first fatal accident in 2016 and has been required by the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to publish information about changes to the Autopilot software by July 1. Otherwise, Tesla faces fines of up to $135.8 million.

Data from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration shows that between August 2022 and August 2023, 510 crashes were caused by Tesla’s Autopilot, 14 of which were fatal. According to the NHTSA report, these crashes could have been avoided if an attentive driver had been behind the wheel.

The driver, who remained at the scene after the accident, is cooperating with the investigation, police said.

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