Los Angeles County prosecutors have filed two counts of vehicular manslaughter against a man who was driving a Tesla that was on Autopilot when it ran a red light, slammed into another car, and killed two people in 2019.
This seems to be the first case in which someone has been charged with a felony in the United States for a fatal crash involving a motorist who was using a partially automated driving system. The driver, Kevin George Aziz Riad, has pleaded not guilty.
At the time of the accident, police said that the driver was traveling at a high rate of speed, exited a freeway, and ran a red light, striking a Honda Civic and killing that car's two occupants. The families of the victims have filed separate wrongful death lawsuits against Riad, and the limo company his father runs, as well as a products liability lawsuit against Tesla, alleging negligence and manufacturing and design defects. A joint trial has been scheduled for mid-2023.