Tesla confirms Model S was on Autopilot during deadly fire truck crash incident

Back in February, a Contra Costa County Fire Protection District ladder truck was parked on the northbound highway lanes according to all instructions to shield the first responders from incoming traffic while working on accidents. The fire truck was parked diagonally, using the engine as a safety barrier to protect the firefighters, as there are often incidents with cars that don't register the big trucks despite all of their flashing lights. 

At around 4 AM, a speeding Tesla Model S slammed into it and lodged underneath the fire truck, killing its driver and critically injuring the passenger. The Tesla had to be cut to withdraw it from underneath the fire truck, which was then towed for repairs while the firefighters were treated for minor injuries.

At the time, the NHTSA dispatched investigators to check whether they should add the incident to a growing list of crashes where driver-assist features like Tesla's Autopilot may have been active at the time of the collision. According to Bloomberg's sources, Tesla has now reported an active driver-assist software during February's fire truck crash indeed, increasing the number of such incidents to 17 since 2021 when the NHTSA started the probe.

Some of those include first responder vehicles parked on the highway or in the emergency lanes that Teslas couldn't properly avoid despite all the signage and warning lights. Facing a driver-assist software recall, Tesla recently updated the description language of such features to stress more firmly that the software requires the driver's attention at all times and will stay at Level 2 on the autonomous driving scale for the foreseeable future.

This irked some owners on the paid Full Self-Driving Beta option who were left with the impression that Tesla may soon achieve higher levels of autonomy, according to Elon Musk's promises, but the NHTSA probe and federal regulations compliance may have forced Tesla's hand when it comes to the legalese. 

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