A 71-year-old man was killed early Thursday morning after a self-driving Tesla hit him while crossing Interstate 80 in Vallejo, the California Highway Patrol said.
Officers responded to a report of a crash on the westbound highway around 2:35 a.m. Thursday, the CHP said. When emergency services arrived, they found that the man’s injuries were fatal.
The driver of the Tesla, a 26-year-old man from San Francisco, told authorities the vehicle was operating in fully autonomous mode at the time of the crash, the CHP said.
The driver “was cooperative and remained on scene,” the CHP said, and provided officers with footage of the crash captured by the Tesla’s dashboard camera.
CHP said its preliminary review of the video shows the Tesla traveling in the second lane at about 70 mph, when the man entered the highway from its right shoulder. He began crossing the highway lanes toward the central divide, placing himself directly in the Tesla’s path. The video shows the brakes applied and the car veering left to try to get around the pedestrian, the CHP said.
“Despite these evasive actions, the right front portion of the Tesla struck the individual,” the CHP said.
The CHP said it appears the pedestrian was struck by a second vehicle while in the middle of a lane of traffic. However, no other cars involved stopped and CHP said they do not know the identities of the other drivers.
The Solano CHP office is actively investigating the crash and encourages witnesses or those with information about other vehicles involved to contact the office.
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