Two people were killed in the fiery crash of a Tesla and authorities say no one was in the driver’s seat, although it is not clear whether the car’s driver assistance system was used. A Harris County agent told television stations in Houston that there was one person in the front passenger seat and another in the rear passenger seat after the wreckage in the Houston suburb of Spring.
Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said authorities are confident no one was driving the car at the time of the crash.
“They are very confident in the positioning of the bodies after the collision that no one was driving in that vehicle,” Herman told CBS partner KHOU-TV.
Deputies said the car, a Tesla Model S according to KHOU-TV, was moving fast and unable to make a turn before running off the road, hitting a tree and burning up on Saturday night. The identity of the victims had not yet been disclosed on Sunday afternoon. KHOU-TV reported that one was 69 and the other 59.
Tesla did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment from The Associated Press.
Federal road safety officials are investigating several Tesla accidents where the vehicle’s Autopilot feature may have been used, including accidents where cars were run under tractors.
The company is warning customers that its driver assistance system, called Autopilot, is not an autonomous driving program and that they should pay attention and be ready to take control of the vehicle. However, the National Transportation Safety Board said last year that the system’s design allows drivers to ignore and not limit where Autopilot can be used.
Local channel 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 repeatedly ignited, and Herman said deputies called Tesla to ask how to put out the fire. Tesla publishes information for first responders, including the location of power lines.