Two people were killed in the crash of a Tesla and authorities say no one was in the driver’s seat, although it is unclear whether the driver’s assistance system was used. A Harris County police officer told Houston television that there was one person in the front passenger seat and another person in the back seat of the passenger, after the wreckage, in the spring suburb of Houston.
Police in Mark Herman, Harris County, said authorities were confident no one was driving at the time of the crash.
“They are very confident only in the positioning of the bodies after the impact that there was no one to drive that vehicle,” Herman told CBS affiliate KHOU-TV.
Deputies said the car, a Tesla Model S according to KHOU-TV, was traveling fast and failed to make a turn before fleeing the road, hit a tree and burst into flames on Saturday night. The victims’ identities had not been released until Sunday afternoon. KHOU-TV reported that one was 69 years old and the other 59 years old.
Tesla did not immediately respond to an email requesting comments from The Associated Press.
Federal traffic safety officials are investigating several Tesla accidents in which the vehicle’s autopilot function could have been used, including accidents in which cars drove under tractors.
The company warns customers that its driver assistance system, called Autopilot, is not a self-driving program and that they must be careful and prepared to take control of the vehicle. However, the National Council for Transport Safety said last year that the design of the system allows drivers to avoid paying attention and does not limit where the autopilot can be used.
Local KPRC-TV reported that a brother-in-law of one of the victims said it took four hours to put out the fire. Authorities said the vehicle’s batteries were repeatedly turned on, and Herman said deputies called Tesla to ask how to put out the fire. Tesla publishes information for first responders, including the location of high-voltage lines.