Man who died in Tesla was physician
A Memorial Hermann doctor was one of two men killed Saturday in an apparently driverless Tesla crash in The Woodlands, according to the medical center.
Hospital officials on Tuesday identified one victim as Dr. William Varner of the Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center.
“Dr. Varner was a tremendous human being who personally impacted many throughout our Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center family over the years,” said CEO Justin Kendrick. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his entire family, and also to those who had the privilege of working and serving alongside him in various capacities. He will be dearly missed by so many.”
Varner, a 59-year-old anesthesiologist, lived on Hammock Dunes Place where the crash occurred, records show. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences had not identified the second victim as of Tuesday afternoon. Authorities described him only as a 69year-old man.
The National Transportation Safety Board and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have launched investigations alongside local agencies.
The deadly crash happened around 9 p.m. Saturday in Carlton Woods Creekside, a private
gated community in Spring, where a 2019 Model S Tesla crashed into a tree at a high rate of speed.
Callers initially reported a fire in the woods, and another witness told authorities they saw the car collision and a subsequent explosion.
Firefighters quickly doused the heavy flames, but used more than 20,000 gallons of water to cool the lithium-ion battery as it continued to re-ignite for hours.
No one was in the driver’s seat when the car slammed into a tree on an undeveloped lot, said Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman.
Authorities said the victims were in the front and rear passenger seats. An investigation is underway to determine how the crash happened, including what features were enabled on the electric car.
In a Monday tweet, Tesla founder Elon Musk seemed to dispute local officials’ statements.
“Data logs recovered so far show Autopilot was not enabled & this car did not purchase FSD (full self-driving capability),” Musk wrote. “Moreover, standard Autopilot would require lane lines to turn on, which this street did not have.”
Neither feature makes the car autonomous, according to a Tesla support webpage. Autopilot and full self-driving capability, which includes auto parking and navigation, are designed to be used by a fully attentive driver with his or her hands on the wheel, the company says.
Saturday’s crash marked the fifth fatal Tesla collision investigated by the NTSB since 2016. The incident has raised concerns among first responders about electric vehicle fires and keeping up with technology.
Nearly all new vehicles have some form of advanced driver assistance technology, according to AAA, but the majority of people remain skeptical of fully autonomous vehicles.
A survey conducted this year by AAA showed that 14 percent of drivers would trust a self-driving vehicle, and 86 percent of people surveyed said they would be afraid or unsure about riding in one.