Texas Man Charged with Manslaughter After Tesla Hits Home, Killing Resident
Michael Butler was arrested on a manslaughter charge after his Tesla Model 3 crashed into a Katy, Texas home on June 19, killing 76-year-old Martha Avila. Authorities say the vehicle was not in self-driving mode at the time of the crash.
A Harris County magistrate set a $150,000 bond for Michael Butler, who was arrested Wednesday on a manslaughter charge after his Tesla Model 3 struck a two-story brick house in the Houston suburb of Katy on June 19. The crash killed 76-year-old resident Martha Avila, who was airlifted to a hospital and later pronounced dead.
Butler, who was injured in the collision, was booked at the Harris County Jail and remained in custody after a court hearing on Thursday. He has not entered a plea, and his next court appearance is scheduled for Monday.
According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Butler was traveling around 8 p.m. and claimed the vehicle was operating with an “automated driving assistance system.” Investigators say the car left the roadway, failed to stay in a single lane, and entered the front room of the residence at a speed of about 73 mph. Butler showed no signs of intoxication and is cooperating with investigators.
The Avila family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit seeking at least $1 million, alleging negligence by both Butler and Tesla. Their attorney, Chris Adkins, said the firm is beginning a fact-finding phase and will request data from Tesla’s “collision snapshot” system.
"They're not eager to either blame the driver or blame Tesla. They want to figure out what happened to their mom and prevent it from happening to other people in their community," Adkins told ABC News.
Tesla disputed that the vehicle was in self-driving mode, stating that Butler manually overrode the system. Elon Musk posted on social media that Butler’s account “makes no sense,” noting that full-self-driving software typically operates at low speeds in neighborhoods. Tesla’s head of artificial intelligence, Ashok Elluswamy, added that the driver pressed the accelerator fully, reaching 73 mph, and continued to do so after the impact.
The incident is under investigation by local authorities, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.