TEXAS: US investigators have found that the driver of a Tesla Model 3 manually overrode the vehicle’s advanced driver assistance system moments before crashing into a house in Texas, an accident that claimed the life of a 76-year-old woman.

According to preliminary findings released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the 44-year-old driver had activated Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised system but then fully pressed the accelerator, causing the vehicle to accelerate to more than 70 mph (113 km/h) before striking the home. The residential road where the crash occurred has a posted speed limit of 30 mph.

The findings indicate that driver input, rather than the automated driving system, played a key role in the fatal collision. The investigation is continuing, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) also examining the incident.

The crash, which occurred in Katy, Texas, resulted in the death of 76-year-old Martha Avila, who later succumbed to her injuries in hospital. Family members said the driver had informed law enforcement officers that the vehicle’s Autopilot system had been activated before the collision.

Tesla’s Vice President of AI Software, Ashok Elluswamy, had earlier stated that the driver manually overrode the self-driving system by pressing the accelerator to its maximum level, a claim now supported by the NTSB’s preliminary analysis of the vehicle’s electronic data.

US regulators have been closely scrutinising Tesla’s driver assistance technologies for several years. Since 2016, federal authorities have launched dozens of investigations into crashes involving Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems, including incidents that resulted in fatalities.

Earlier this year, the NHTSA expanded its investigation into millions of Tesla vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving software over concerns that the system may not adequately respond to poor visibility or other hazardous driving conditions.

Tesla maintains that both Autopilot and Full Self-Driving are driver-assistance technologies rather than fully autonomous systems. The company says drivers must remain alert, keep their hands on the steering wheel and be prepared to take control of the vehicle at all times.

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