Tesla Sued by Family of Engineer Who Died in Model X Crash

The family of the Apple engineer who died in a fiery crash on U.S. Highway 101 in Mountain View last year while his car was in Autopilot has sued Tesla.

The family is also suing the state of California for not maintaining the highway, claiming that "appropriate safety repairs were not undertaken and completed within the required amount of time" so as to avoid the dangerous condition which existed at the time of the crash.

The lawsuit accuses the state of California of creating "a death trap for motorists" traveling south on U.S. Highway 101.

The official complaint for damages include negligence, wrongful death, strict and dangerous condition of public property.

“Based on Tesla’s advertising and promotional material, decedent Walter Huang believed the Tesla Model X’s technology was such that the autopilot features included designed-in programs, software, hardware, and systems that would eliminate the risk of harm or injury to the vehicle operator caused by the vehicle failing to drive at safe speeds, failing to operate only within marked travel lanes, failing to avoid other vehicles or obstacles while driving on highways, or accelerating into fixed objects or vehicles while in autopilot mode,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit claims that Tesla's autopilot feature was defective, causing the crash.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the Tesla Model X was driving southbound on US-101 and state Highway 85 junction at freeway speeds when the driver lost control and ran into a median barrier causing the car to catch fire. The Tesla was then hit by a white Mazda as it landed on a lane and then hit by a gray Audi in the next lane. A total of three vehicles were involved.

The driver of the Tesla, Wei Huang, 38 was taken to Stanford University Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries.

Tesla sent an employee over to investigate the crash and the subsequent fire. An exposed battery was visible inside the car.

A Tesla Model X is a mid-sized, all-electric, luxury crossover SUV made by Tesla with falcon wing doors. It starts at $79,500.

Tesla blamed Caltrans for not replacing the barrier, stating on the company's website that the crash was "so severe" because a new attenuator had not been installed in place of the damaged one.

"We have never seen this level of damage to a Model X in any other crash," the car manufacturer said.

Tesla acknowledged that Autopilot was engaged, and that the system's adaptive cruise control follow-distance was set to minimum.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued a statement saying investigators were "unhappy" when Tesla released those details and a few others about the crash without notifying them beforehand.

Tesla shares fell after the NTSB announced it was sending investigators to look into the fatal car crash.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Minami Tamaki LLP law firm

from NBC Southern California - Tech News http://bit.ly/2WhxfRo