Tesla Driver Dies in California Firetruck Crash Days After Tesla Recalled 362,000 EVs

An accident between a Tesla electric vehicle (EV) and a firetruck claimed the life of the Tesla driver in Walnut Creek, California.

Meanwhile, due to a software issue with its autonomous driving feature, Tesla was directed to recall 362,000 cars in the US. Regulatory agencies have voiced concerns that this function might cause accidents, such as the most recent one in Walnut Creek.

Tesla-Firetruck Crash

After crashing into a parked fire engine on Interstate 680, the driver of a Tesla Model S was pronounced dead at the scene. The firetruck was reportedly stopped to shield workers who were cleaning the scene of an earlier collision, as reported by The Associated Press.

The incident occurred at dawn on Saturday, Feb 18. Reports said that it took several hours to clean the scene and that the firetruck had to be towed away.

According to WPXI, the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District stated the Tesla passenger was successfully extracted from the vehicle and sent to the hospital.

Meanwhile, four firemen on the firetruck at the time of the accident were sent to the hospital for assessment. They were treated for minor injuries.

In an interview with The Associated Press, California Highway Patrol Officer Adam Lane said it was unclear if the driver of the Tesla was intoxicated or whether the car itself was malfunctioning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been looking at Tesla's autopilot function to see how effectively it can identify and react to emergency cars on congested roadways. Apparently, around 14 Teslas have hit emergency vehicles while operating in autopilot mode.

The investigation is still in progress.

Recalled Tesla EVs

Even before this accident, safety concerns had been raised about the Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta system in Tesla EVs. This resulted in the recall of 362,768 cars just recently.

Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, has announced that certain of its EVs equipped with the FSD Beta system are vulnerable to software glitches.

Elon Musk's EV fleets have had their share of issues, just like every other major automaker. And as per Gizmodo's compilation, we are talking about 19 recalls last year alone!

• In 2018, roughly 123,000 Model S sedans were recalled due to "corroding bolts" that might fall.
• In June 2021, the automaker recalled 285,000 vehicles after a software error activated cruise control, which may cause rapid acceleration.
• In December 2021, Tesla recalled 675,000 US and Chinese automobiles as their trunks and hoods might randomly open.
• In February 2022, around 53,000 vehicles were recollected because its FSD software did not stop at red lights. Tesla also recalled an additional 817,000 vehicles for broken seatbelt chimes.
• In September 2022, Tesla recalled 1.1 million EVs because the windows could not distinguish an obstructed item and might have squeezed fingers.
• In November 2022, Tesla recalled 40,000 cars due to power steering failure and another 30,000 for faulty airbag deployment. The firm recollected 321,000 cars for a taillight software problem in the same month.