DEADLY TESLA PROBE

Eyeing possible auto drive in Fla. crash

The federal vehicle watchdog has dispatched investigators to probe yet another Tesla crash — this time one along Interstate 75 in Florida that killed two people last week.

A Special Crash Investigations team was sent to probe the fatal collision Wednesday, where a 2015 model year Tesla hit the back of a semi-trailer at a rest area near Gainesville, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday.

The agency would not divulge whether the Tesla was using the company’s partially automated driving technology.

The vehicle was traveling on Interstate 75 about 2 p.m. Wednesday when, for an unknown reason, it careened into a rest area.

It then traveled into the parking lot and struck the back of a parked Walmart Freightliner tractortrailer, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The car rearended the tractor-trailer, a CBS affiliate reported.

The driver and passenger, both from Lompoc, Calif., were pronounced dead at the scene. The two who died were a 66-year-old woman and a 67-year-old man, according to a local news outlet.

Highway Patrol Lt. P.V. Riordan said Friday in an email that his agency will determine whether any partially automated features were in use.

“That is a consideration that will be explored during our investigation,” he said.

Many investigations

NHTSA is probing 37 crashes involving automated-driving systems since 2016. Of the incidents, 30 involved Teslas, including 11 fatal crashes that have killed 15.

The agency also said in documents that it’s investigating a fatal pedestrian crash earlier in July in California that involved a Tesla Model 3. It also sent a team to probe a Cruise automated-vehicle crash in California that caused a minor injury in June.

NHTSA also has been investigating Teslas on autopilot crashing into parked emergency vehicles. In a separate probe, it is looking at Teslas on autopilot braking for no apparent reason.

Last week, new NHTSA Administrator Steven Cliff told The Associated Press that the agency is escalating efforts to understand the risks posed by automated-vehicle technology so it can determine what rules may be necessary to protect drivers, passengers and pedestrians.

He also noted that automated systems like automatic emergency braking present a potential to save lives.

INSTANT DEATH: A 2015 Tesla lies under the tractor-trailer it rear-ended at a rest area near Gainesville, Fla. The driver and passenger were killed. The federal government is investigating the crash, including the question of whether the automated-driving feature was engaged.