As the proliferation of autonomous and semi-autonomous driving systems continues, car manufacturers, drivers and insurance carriers are grappling with how to police and insure the use of these products. Tesla's "autopilot" feature was the first mainstream system to claim autonomous or semi-autonomous driving capabilities. (Photo: Flystock/Shutterstock.com)
On the lovely Southern California evening of December 29, 2019, Gilberto Alcazar Lopez and Maria Guadalupe Nieves-Lopez were enjoying a time-honored tradition that most can relate to — they were on a first date. What could have been the start of something special ended in tragedy.
Kevin George Aziz Riad was exiting the freeway in his 2016 Tesla Model S. Riad's Tesla slammed into the Honda Civic driven by Lopez. Authorities have alleged that Riad had engaged the "autopilot" feature of his Model S when the crash occurred and that he had not manually applied the brakes for approximately six minutes prior to the crash. Lopez and Nieves-Lopez were fatally injured in the accident, while Riad and a passenger in his vehicle were also injured.
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