Detroit police blame driver for Tesla crash involving semi-truck that seriously injured woman

DETROIT – Detroit Deputy Chief of Police David LeValley recently spoke to Local 4 News about the crash last Thursday involving a Tesla trailer and a tractor in southwest Detroit.

The crash left Tesla passenger Esmeralda Barco, 21, critically injured.

“It seems that speed was a major factor in the collision. All the indications we have at this moment are that the vehicle was not in autopilot mode, that the driver was in control of the vehicle at the time of the crash “, said LeValley.

Read: Was it an autopilot or driver error? Federations are investigating the crash of Tesla in western Detroit

Read more: The US is sending the team to Detroit to investigate the Tesla-semi crash

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Despite preliminary information on Tuesday morning, DPD investigators will meet with officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other agencies during the week to look for clues that may still be under the hood.

“People from that agency, along with the officer handling the case here in Detroit and the Michigan State Police, will take out a black box and an SD card from that Tesla,” LeValley said.

DPD could not comment on what exactly those books entail, although the damaged vehicle is still in their possession.

“We think that once we look at that black box and download that information along with the information on the SD card, we can be sure whether or not the vehicle was in autopilot mode or not,” LeValley added.

It’s all part of a larger investigation on behalf of the NHTSA to determine if there is a connection to two Florida crashes that happened to Teslas.

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“In my understanding, there are several other accidents involving Tesla vehicles in other parts of the country,” LeValley said.

Only those accidents were fatal and the automatic driving function was used. Currently, all the blame is placed on the person behind the wheel.

“They checked today and authorized the charges today, accusing the driver of reckless driving and causing serious injuries,” LaValley said.

Local 4 News has been informed that the driver will be detained soon. In the meantime, the NHTSA investigation will continue.

Barco is still fighting for her life and is facing brain bleeding and major back injuries.

An online fundraiser was created on behalf of the woman. To help the accident victim, click here to donate to online fundraising.

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