A Texas woman was killed after a Tesla that authorities say was operating in automated driver-assistance mode crashed straight into her home.
The crash happened around 8 p.m. Friday in Katy, Texas, about 30 miles west of Houston, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities identified the driver as Michael Butler, who was behind the wheel of a Tesla Model 3. Investigators said the vehicle was being operated “with an automated driving assistance system” when it left the road.
The sheriff’s office said Butler failed to stay in a single lane, drove off the roadway, and slammed into a home on Blooming Park Lane.
The Tesla reportedly crashed through the brick house at a high rate of speed and struck 76-year-old Martha Avila, who was inside at the time.
Avila was flown by medical helicopter to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
A front-door camera captured the terrifying moment the Tesla came barreling through the driveway and smashed into the house. Authorities have not said exactly how fast the vehicle was traveling.
“We’re still evaluating what caused that car to fail to control its speed just before this crash,” Sgt. Alex Turman of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office told ABC13 Houston.
He said Avila was standing in the front room of the house when the Tesla crashed through.
Investigators said Butler showed no signs of intoxication and cooperated with authorities. The investigation remains ongoing.
It was not immediately clear whether Butler was injured in the crash. Tesla did not immediately respond to questions about the crash or the vehicle’s software.
Tesla’s automated driver-assistance features have drawn heavy scrutiny over the years. The company’s owner manuals tell drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and be ready to take control if something goes wrong.
In 2023, Tesla recalled more than 2 million vehicles after federal regulators said the company had not done enough to make sure drivers stayed alert while using software that can steer, accelerate, and brake automatically.
That recall followed a federal investigation opened in 2021 after a series of crashes, including fatal crashes, involving Tesla’s driver-assistance technology.
In 2024, Tesla also settled a lawsuit that blamed its driver-assistance software for the death of a California man in a 2018 crash.