Tesla’s Autopilot was engaged before fatal crash

NEW YORK — The vehicle in a fatal crash last week in California was operating on Autopilot, making it the latest accident to involve a self-driving vehicle, Tesla Inc. confirmed.

The electric-car maker said the driver, who was killed, did not have his hands on the steering wheel for six seconds before the crash, despite several warnings from the vehicle. Tesla tells drivers that its Autopilot system, which can keep speed, change lanes and self-park, requires drivers to keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel in order to take control of the vehicle to avoid accidents.

Tesla said its vehicle logs show the driver took no action to stop the Model X SUV from crashing into a concrete lane divider. Photographs of the SUV show that the front of the vehicle was demolished; its hood was ripped off; and its front wheels were scattered on the freeway.

The vehicle also caught fire, though Tesla said no one was in the vehicle when that happened. The company said the crash was made worse by a missing or damaged safety shield on the end of the freeway barrier that is supposed to soften the impact.

The crash happened in Mountain View, in California’s Silicon Valley. The driver was Walter Huang, 38, a software engineer for Apple who was an early Tesla adopter.

Tesla said its Autopilot feature doesn’t prevent all accidents but makes them less likely to occur than vehicles without it.

“In the past, when we have brought up statistical safety points, we have been criticized for doing so, implying that we lack empathy for the tragedy that just occurred,” the company’s statement said. “Nothing could be further from the truth. We care deeply for and feel indebted to those who chose to put their trust in us. However, we must also care about people now and in the future whose lives may be saved if they know that Autopilot improves safety.”

Federal investigators also are looking into a separate crash in January of a Tesla Model S that may have been operating under the Autopilot system.

Also this month, a selfdriving Volvo SUV being tested by Uber struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona.