Family of Texas woman killed by Tesla in automated mode files lawsuit against automaker and driver
The relatives of 76-year-old Martha Avila have sued Tesla and the driver of a Model 3 that crashed into her Katy home while operating an automated driving assistance system, alleging design defects and negligence.
A Harris County District Court lawsuit filed by the daughter and son-in-law of Martha Avila alleges that a Tesla Model 3 operating in "Autopilot" mode collided with her residence in Katy, Texas, on Friday evening, resulting in her death. The complaint cites a design defect and a failure to warn, and names both Tesla and the driver, Michael Butler, as defendants.
According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Butler was using an automated driving assistance system at the time of the crash and showed no signs of intoxication. The vehicle entered the brick home at a high speed, striking Avila in the front room and pinning her in the wreckage, after which she was airlifted to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Tesla has not commented on the lawsuit. Elon Musk, responding to a separate news story, noted that the Full Self-Driving feature is intended for low-speed neighborhood travel, contrasting it with the high-speed nature of the incident. Tesla’s vice president of AI software, Ashok Elluswamy, said the driver manually overrode the system by pressing the accelerator fully in the residential area.
The suit references a Washington Post analysis that identified at least 17 fatal incidents linked to Tesla’s Autopilot and claims the system has a “history of known danger.” It seeks more than $1 million in damages and alleges that Butler acted with reckless disregard for safety.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a special investigation into the crash, and no criminal charges have been filed pending the ongoing inquiry.