A woman was killed in Texas and a driver was rescued from a submerged vehicle in Connecticut in two separate crashes involving Tesla vehicles last week, authorities said. The driver in the Texas crash told investigators the vehicle’s automated driving assistance system was engaged at the time.
A doorbell video camera captured the Friday night episode in Katy, Texas, a suburb west of Houston. Authorities said 76-year-old Martha Avila Mantilla was standing in the front room of a relative’s home when a Tesla Model 3 crashed at speed into the residence.
The driver, 44-year-old Michael Butler, told investigators from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office that the vehicle’s “automated driving assistance system” was engaged at the time, according to a statement from the agency. The statement said Butler “failed to drive in a single lane, left the roadway and struck the residence.” The victim was taken to a hospital by helicopter but was declared dead. The statement added that Butler showed no signs of intoxication and was cooperative. It was not immediately clear if the driver sustained injuries.
In a separate incident in New Canaan, Connecticut, a lifeguard was credited with saving the life of a driver whose car plowed through trees and into a community pool as he was trying to park. Mike D’Urso, 18, told ABC News affiliate WABC that he and first responders pulled the driver uninjured from a passenger window of the car as it submerged into the pool on Tuesday morning. The pool had not yet opened for the day.
“Me and my co-worker were setting up the umbrellas when we heard a loud crash and we turned around – and there was a car right in the middle of the pool,” D’Urso said. “The car began to sink a couple minutes in, and my concern was that the water would rise above his head and he wouldn’t be able to breathe.”
A spokesperson for the New Canaan Parks and Recreation Department said the driver was believed to be trying to park his vehicle but instead hit the accelerator, crashed through some trees and a fence, and went into the water. The official said the pool required draining and cleaning after the incident.
The incidents come amid ongoing scrutiny of Tesla’s driver-assistance technology. In 2023, Tesla recalled more than 2 million vehicles to “incorporate additional controls and alerts” to its automated driving systems. An investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found the existing software failed to adequately ensure drivers paid attention while using it.
According to the company, its vehicles have two types of automated driver assistance programs: Autopilot, which matches vehicle speed to surrounding traffic and assists drivers in remaining in marked lanes; and Full Self-Driving capability. Neither system makes the vehicle autonomous, the company states, and drivers must remain fully attentive with their hands on the steering wheel at all times.
In May, a driver using a Tesla Cybertruck’s “wade mode” feature, which raises the vehicle’s suspension in shallow water, drove into a lake in Grapevine, Texas, and had to be rescued.