In 2019, Kevin Riad was behind the wheel of a Tesla that ran a red light and crashed into another vehicle while using the automated driving function, an accident that resulted in the deaths of two people in the car that was hit.
Now Riad, 27, has been charged with manslaughter in the state of California despite his car having been on autopilot at the time of the fatal crash.
The case is historic, the first felony charge levied against someone behind the wheel of an automated car.
According to NHTSA guidelines, drivers are supposed to remain focused on the road and keep both hands on the steering wheel, even in autonomous vehicles.
The NHTSA also issued a statement about this particular case, stating that there is no vehicle currently on the market that drives itself and re-emphasizing that “every vehicle requires the human driver to be in control at all times.”
The agency urged that drivers use new technologies responsibly as an aid for safe driving, not a substitute for attentive operation of a vehicle.
So far, Tesla self-driving cars have been involved in at least 26 crashes that resulted in at least 11 deaths since 2016.
Riad is pleading not guilty.
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