In a devastating incident in Santa Clara, California, a mother and her 12-year-old daughter were killed when their Tesla Model Y veered off the road and collided with a tree.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that a 44-year-old woman and her 12-year-old daughter were killed on Friday in a tragic car accident that occurred on the San Tomas Expressway in Santa Clara, California, leaving a town in mourning. Their white 2021 Tesla Model Y left the road while heading north and smashed into a tree.
Paramedics from the Santa Clara County Fire Department were summoned right away to the scene, where they confirmed that both of the car’s occupants had passed away. The public has not yet been given access to the victims’ names.
Connecticut Tesla still burning long after fire department responds (Stamford Fire Department)
It wasn’t immediately clear if the Tesla’s self-driving technology was in use when the accident occurred. It is still too early in the inquiry, according to Santa Clara police, to tell whether the Tesla’s autopilot features were activated.
Tesla hasn’t yet made an official statement about the incident. However, the incident has sparked public concern over the security of autonomous vehicles.
Breitbart News recently reported on the grim statistics about Elon Musk’s “Autopilot” software for Tesla vehicles that have recently emerged. The technology has contributed to more than 700 accidents and 17 deaths since 2019.
As Breitbart News reported:
The Washington Post reports that Tesla’s Autopilot system has been linked to 736 crashes and 17 fatalities in the U.S. since 2019, causing the safety of the company’s driver-assistance technology to be seriously questioned.
The information has sparked a discussion about the safety of autonomous driving technology because it reveals a significant rise in accidents and fatalities linked to Autopilot over the previous four years. There have been 17 fatal incidents associated with Autopilot, 11 of which have happened since May 2022, up from three that were documented in June 2022.
In one serious incident, Tillman Mitchell, a 17-year-old boy, was struck by a Tesla Model Y while it was allegedly in Autopilot mode as he stepped off a school bus. The car never slowed down. It struck Mitchell at 45 mph. According to Mitchell’s great-aunt, Dorothy Lynch, the teenager was thrown into the windshield, flew into the air, and landed face down in the road. Mitchell survived the crash but suffered from memory issues, a broken leg, and a fractured neck.
Read more at The San Francisco Chronicle here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan