Driver in strange Tesla crash apparently moved to rear seat
DETROIT (AP) — Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board apparently have solved the mystery of why no one was found behind the steering wheel of a Tesla that crashed in a Texas two years ago, killing two men.
The agency said in an investigative report released Wednesday on the fiery April 17, 2021 crash in the Houston suburb of Spring that the 59-year-old Tesla driver apparently moved to the back seat after slamming into the car’s front air bag, deforming the steering wheel in the crash.
Although the crash raised questions about whether the car was operating on Tesla’s “Autopilot” partially automated driving system, the NTSB determined that the system could not have been used on the street where the crash happened due to lack of lane lines. Testing showed the car’s “Traffic Aware Cruise Control” system could have been used, although it would only work up to the maximum speed on the suburban road, 30 mph (50 kilometers per hour), the report said.
The 2019 Tesla reached 67 mph (108 kilometers per hour) two seconds before hitting the second of two trees at 57 mph (92 kilometers per hour) before being consumed by flames as the lithium-ion battery caught fire.
The Tesla’s event data recorder showed that the accelerator moved “consistent with driver activity” in the five seconds before the crash, and that the driver’s seat belt was connected when the crash happened.
“Although the driver’s seat was found vacant and the driver was found in the left rear seat, the available evidence suggests that the driver was seated in the driver’s seat at the time of the crash and moved into the rear seat postcrash,” the report said.
The agency found that excessive speed and failure to control the car due to alcohol
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of Turkey’s main opposition party, blamed the devastation on Erdogan’s twodecade rule, saying he had not prepared the country for a disaster and accusing him of misspending funds.
In their effort to crack down on disinformation related to the earthquake response, police said they had detained 18 people and identified more than 200 social media accounts suspected of “spreading fear and panic.”
Global internet monitor NetBlocks said access to Twitter was restricted on multiple internet providers in Turkey. Trapped survivors have used Twitter to alert rescuers and loved ones, while others have taken to the social network to criticize the government’s response.
There was no official comment on the restrictions. The government has periodically restricted access to social media during national emergencies and terror attacks, citing national security. impairment caused the crash. The report says testing by a Federal Aviation Administration lab found that the driver had a bloodalcohol level of 0.151 grams per deciliter, almost twice the Texas legal limit of 0.08. Two over-the-counter sedating antihistamine medications also were found in the driver’s blood, according to the report.
Autopsies determined that the driver died from blunt force trauma, burns and smoke inhalation. The 69-year-old male passenger died from blunt force trauma to the torso and extremities, as well as burns, the report said.
The agency said security video from the driver’s home showed the driver and passenger getting into the front seats before driving away from the home. The car traveled about 550 feet (170 meters) before leaving the road on a curve, hitting a storm sewer inlet and raised manhole, sideswiping one tree before hitting another, the agency said.
In Syria, aid efforts have been hampered by the ongoing war and the isolation of the rebel-held region along the border, which is surrounded by Russiabacked government forces. Syria itself is an international pariah under Western sanctions linked to the war.
The European Union said Wednesday that Syria had asked for humanitarian assistance to help earthquake victims. An EU representative insisted the bloc’s sanctions against the Syrian government had no impact on its potential to help.
The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Muhannad Hadi, said Wednesday that there was still no access to the Bab alHawa border crossing into rebel-held Syria — the only terminal where U.N. aid can be delivered — because of damaged roads.
Using other crossings, or sending the aid across conflict lines from Damascus, requires “multiple levels of coordination between different parties, security, humanitarian, NGOs,” he said. “It’s not a straightforward operation.”
Critics have accused the Syrian government of deliberately slowing down the process to cut off support to rebel-held areas.
Turkey sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes. Some 18,000 were killed in similarly powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.