A 2019 Tesla Model 3 reportedly driving on Autopilot mode crashed into a parked Florida Highway Patrol car Saturday morning, according to a police report.
The state trooper had stopped to help the driver of a disabled 2012 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 on an interstate highway near downtown Orlando around 5 a.m. when the incident occurred, the report states.
The emergency lights were activated on the state patrol car — a 2018 Dodge Charger — when the 26-year-old female driver in the Tesla slammed into it and then crashed into the disabled vehicle, narrowly missing the trooper, the report says. There were no major injuries.
The Tesla’s Autopilot advanced driver-assistance system was engaged when it struck the patrol car, police officials tweeted.
A NHTSA spokesperson had no immediate comment on the matter.
U.S. auto safety regulators this month opened an investigation into the EV maker’s Autopilot mode after a series of collisions with first responder vehicles where the driver-assist system was engaged.
The safety probe covers an estimated 765,000 Teslas from the 2014 to 2021 model years. Most of the crashes occurred after dark and in total resulted in 17 injuries and one death.
NHTSA has come under scrutiny by safety advocates for failing to ensure the safety of systems such as Autopilot despite recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board to develop standards for driver-monitoring systems and other safeguards such as limiting where driver-assist technology can be activated.
Critics also say the name Autopilot misrepresents the driver-assist system’s capabilities. In addition to Autopilot, questions have been raised about Tesla’s newer driver-assist feature that it calls Full Self Driving and is beta testing with live drivers on public roads.
Both systems require a “fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment,” according to Tesla’s website.
No automaker sells a vehicle for public purchase today that is self-driving.
Tesla did not respond to requests for comment Monday.