Detroit police blame driver for Tesla crash with semi-truck that seriously injured woman

DETROIT – Detroit Police Department Deputy Chief David LeValley recently spoke to Local 4 News about the crash that happened last Thursday with a Tesla trailer and a tractor in southwest Detroit.

The accident left a 21-year-old Tesla passenger, Esmeralda Barco, critically injured.

“It seems that speed was an important factor in the collision. All the indications we have at the moment are that the vehicle was not in autopilot mode, that the driver had control of the vehicle at the time of the accident, ”LeValley said.

Read: Was it an autopilot or driver error? Federals are investigating the Tesla crash on the west side of Detroit

Read more: The U.S. sends the team to Detroit to investigate the Tesla-semi crash

Announcements

Despite preliminary information given Tuesday morning, later in the week DPD investigators will meet with officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other agencies to look for clues that are still under the hood.

“People from this agency, along with the agent responsible for the case here in Detroit and Michigan state police, will remove a black box and an SD card from this Tesla,” LeValley said.

DPD was unable to comment on what exactly these letters imply, although the wrecked vehicle is still in its possession.

“We believe that once we look at this black box and download this information along with the information on the SD card, we can safely determine whether or not the vehicle was in autopilot mode,” he added. LeValley.

This is a larger investigation done on behalf of the NHTSA to determine if there is any connection to two Florida crashes that also occurred at Teslas.

Announcements

“In my understanding, there are some other crashes related to Tesla vehicles in other parts of the country,” LeValley said.

Only those accidents were fatal and the automatic driving function was being used. By now all the blame is being imposed on the person who was behind the wheel.

“They reviewed this and cleared the charges today, charging the driver with reckless driving and causing serious injuries,” LaValley said.

Local 4 News has reported that the driver will be arrested again soon. Meanwhile, NHTSA investigation will continue.

Barco continues to struggle for his life and is facing cerebral hemorrhages and major back injuries.

An online fundraiser has been set up on behalf of the woman. To help the accident victim, click here to make a donation to the online fundraiser.

Announcements