HOUSTON – Two men are dead after a Tesla traveling in Spring crashed into a tree and no one was driving the vehicle, officials say.
The crash happened at 11:25 p.m. in the Carlton Woods subdivision near The Woodlands. The car burst into flames after hitting a tree near 18 Hammock Dunes Place.
Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman told KPRC 2 that the investigation showed “no one was driving” the fully-electric 2019 Tesla when the accident happened. There was a person in the passenger seat of the front of the car and in the rear passenger seat of the car.
Two men killed after Tesla that may have been in autonomous driving or self driving mode didn’t adhere to a curve, slammed into a tree then burst into flames in the Woodlands, officials say. Firefighters say they had to call Tesla to figure out how to oust the blaze. @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/nmhDxKeTHT — Deven Clarke (@KPRC2Deven) April 18, 2021
2 men killed in Tesla car fire in Spring
Deadly car crash under investigation in Spring
Herman said authorities believe no one else was in the car and that it burst into flames immediately. He said it he believes it wasn’t being driven by a human.
Harris County Constable Precinct 4 deputies said the vehicle was traveling at a high speed when it failed to negotiate a cul-de-sac turn, ran off the road and hit the tree.
KPRC 2 reporter Deven Clarke spoke to one man’s brother-in-law who said he was taking the car out for a spin with his best friend, so there were just two in the vehicle.
The owner, he said, backed out of the driveway, and then may have hopped in the back seat only to crash a few hundred yards down the road. He said the owner was found in the back seat upright.
The brother-in-law of one of the victims said relatives watched the car burn for four hours as authorities tried to tap out the flames.
Authorities said they used 32,000 gallons of water to extinguish the flames because the vehicle’s batteries kept reigniting. At one point, Herman said, deputies had to call Tesla to ask them how to put out the fire in the battery.
Authorities will perform autopsies on both men.
Corporate_Monster on April 18th, 2021 at 17:06 UTC »
A number of racetracks have banned Tesla's racing, due to the fact that they don't know how to efficiently put the fires out or keep them out. They're not sure what hazardous materials come out of the car during the fire and will contaminate the track and the surrounding area.
amped-row on April 18th, 2021 at 16:20 UTC »
At what point do they just prop up a pool so they don’t waste so much water
RhinestoneTaco on April 18th, 2021 at 16:05 UTC »
There's a good post over in /r/SelfDrivingCars (that I can understand about 85% of) that explains why "dumping a shitload of water on it" is about the best procedure they have in these situations.