Tesla hit with lawsuit over fatal Autopilot accident

The incident was the second involving a semi trailer crossing a Florida highway.

Tesla faces yet another lawsuit over a fatal Autopilot accident as the family of a Model 3 driver accuses the company of culpability for a March crash in Florida.

Echoing details of the first fatal Autopilot crash, Jeremy Banner was driving on a Florida highway when Autopilot apparently failed to detect a semi-trailer that was blocking the lanes as it made a left turn toward the opposite direction. An NTSB report indicates the car was traveling 68 mph when it slammed into the trailer, shearing off the roof of the car and killing Banner.

Data collected from the car suggests Autopilot was engaged 10 seconds before the crash but the driver's hands were not detected on the steering wheel starting around eight seconds before impact. Neither Banner nor Autopilot attempted to slow the vehicle or maneuver to prevent the crash.

Attorneys representing Banner's family argue that Tesla misrepresented Autopilot safety by claiming the technology would "eliminate the risk of harm or injury to the vehicle or operator caused by other vehicles or obstacles," as quoted by the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

An NTSB report released in 2017 detailed several design factors that may have contributed to the first fatal Autopilot accident involving a Model S that also failed to recognize a semi-trailer blocking the lanes, though the agency did not declare Tesla's technology to be defective. The automaker later rolled out a few changes to Autopilot's warning alerts that discourage drivers from taking their hands off the wheel while the system is engaged.

"Our data shows that, when used properly by an attentive driver who is prepared to take control at all times, drivers supported by Autopilot are safer than those operating without assistance," the company said in a statement earlier this year after the NTSB launched an investigation into the March crash at the center of the lawsuit.