By Christian George
A Tesla driver was reportedly killed while it plowed into a fire truck that was parked on a Northern California freeway to shield a crew clearing another accident.
Tracie Dutter, assistant chief of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District confirmed that a passenger and four firefighters who were in the truck when it was struck on Interstate 680 were treated for minor injuries.
According to AP, the driver was declared dead at the scene, Dutter said. The car needed to be cut open to remove the passenger who was taken to a hospital.
However, California Highway Patrol Officer, Adam Lane, was uncertain if the driver was intoxicated or the Tesla Model S was operating with automation or driving assistance features.
It could be recalled that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating Tesla’s auto-pilot system as well as how it responds to emergency vehicles parked on highways.
Record has it that not fewer than 14 Teslas have crashed into emergency vehicles while using the system.
Dutter further started that the truck had its lights on and was parked diagonally on northbound lanes of the freeway to protect responders to an earlier accident that did not result in injuries.
