Tesla sued by family of motorcyclist killed in Autopilot crash
By Hyunjoo Jin
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – The parents of a motorcyclist who was killed in a 2022 crash involving a Tesla Model 3 on Autopilot in Utah sued the electric carmaker and the vehicle’s driver, claiming that the driver assistant software and other safety features are “defective and inadequate.”
Landon Embry, 34, died on the scene after the Model 3 put on Autopilot at 75-80 miles per hour struck the back of his Harley Davidson motorcycle, throwing him from the bike, according to the lawsuit filed in state court in Salt Lake City last week.
The lawsuit claims the driver of the Model 3 was “tired” and “not in a condition to drive as an ordinarily prudent driver.”
The complaint said the Autopilot sensors such as cameras “should have identified the hazard posed by Decedent’s motorcycle in its presence.”
“A reasonably prudent driver, or adequate auto braking system, would have, and could have slowed or stopped without colliding with the motorcycle,” the complaint said.
Tesla was not immediately available for comment.
The lawsuit adds to growing scrutiny of Tesla’s driver assistant systems Autopilot and Full Self-Driving.
A Tesla Model S car was in “Full Self-Driving” mode when it hit and killed a 28-year-old motorcyclist in the Seattle area in April this year, police said this week.
In April, Tesla settled a lawsuit over a 2018 crash that killed an Apple engineer after his Model X, operating on Autopilot, swerved off a highway near San Francisco.
(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by Leslie Adler)