Tesla in autopilot crashes into van parked in driveway, driver ticketed for careless driving
SOUTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. (WABC) -- A driver was ticketed for careless driving after their Tesla, which was on autopilot, crashed into a vehicle parked in a driveway in New Jersey.
A video from inside the Tesla, which was turning off Georges Road in South Brunswick onto a side street.
Its sensors apparently picked up a white SUV you see coming from the opposite direction on that same side street. Police say the Tesla was on autopilot.
"They're asserting that it was fully automatic. They were negotiating a turn, to turn into a very narrow street. When they turned, they were essentially facing another vehicle head-on. According to them the car reacted to avoid the head-on collision and ended up accelerating straight into a residential driveway," South Brunswick Police Det. Sgt. Tim Hoover said.
The crash happened around 5 p.m. Monday. The owner of the minivan in the driveway that was struck, who did not want to be identified, was sitting right at the garage door, planting seedlings.
"I was sitting in the grade doing the last set of lines. When I heard this bang, " he said. "When I came up, my feet were underneath the van."
The van owner said the crash happened in the blink of an eye, but he avoided injury.
The impact of the Tesla pushed the van into the garage, causing damage.
The Tesla ended up with front-end damage.
Police believe the Tesla may have mistaken the homeowner's driveway for a street and sped up to avoid a collision with the SUV.
The Tesla's owner was ticketed for careless driving.
"In the state of New Jersey, even if you have a fully automatic function on your vehicles, your Teslas, or anything that can drive on autopilot. You still have to take due regard to drive with caution," Hoover said.
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