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Was it autopilot or driver error? Feds investigate Tesla crash on Detroit’s west side

Crash occurred on Waterman Street early Thursday morning

DETROIT – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent a special crash investigation team to Detroit Tuesday to investigate a collision crash involving a Tesla that drove beneath a semitrailer

The crash happened at about 3:20 a.m. Thursday near the intersection of Waterman and Fort streets.



The investigators are looking for any answers in what could have gone wrong with the crash. The passenger, a 21-year-old woman, is in the hospital in critical condition and the driver of the Tesla was also injured.

The crash circumstances are similar to two others in Florida in which Teslas drove beneath tractor-trailers, causing two deaths. In both crashes, in 2016 and 2019, the cars were being driven while using Tesla’s Autopilot partially automated driving software.

Whether or not that feature was being used in last weeks incident in Detroit is still under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Detroit Police Department at 313-596-2260.

More: Local news


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Victor Williams joined Local 4 News in October of 2019 after working for WOIO in Cleveland, OH, WLOX News in Biloxi, MS, and WBBJ in Jackson, TN. Victor developed a love for journalism after realizing he was a great speaker and writer at an early age.

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Dane is a producer and media enthusiast. He previously worked freelance video production and writing jobs in Michigan, Georgia and Massachusetts. Dane graduated from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.

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