One pedestrian has died and another is in “life that threatening condition” after a Tesla ran a red light and caused a two car accident in downtown San Francisco on Sunday afternoon, according to CBS.
The incident took place at the intersection of Taylor and O’Farrell Streets at about 2 o’clock in the afternoon. The Tesla was being rented out by its owner using the Getaround car sharing app.
The woman driving the Tesla was reportedly speeding and ran a red light, police said, citing surveillance footage. An investigator said the car was doing “at least 45 mph” when it entered the intersection and was broadsided by a Mini-Cooper. After the accident, the Tesla hit two pedestrians walking in the crosswalk.
The victims were tourists visiting from Clovis, California and were transported to San Francisco General Hospital with life-threatening injuries. The husband was pronounced dead at the hospital. He was identified as 39-year-old Benjamin Dean.
.@SFPD investigating a fatal crash at Taylor & O’Farrell St.
Per SFPD: A woman driving the black @Tesla up Taylor St ran the red light, Mini Cooper hit the Tesla, causing the Tesla to spin around, hitting a Clovis couple in the crosswalk. Husband died, wife seriously hurt@KPIXtv pic.twitter.com/ScxnQthzIU— Katie Nielsen (@KatieKPIX) July 22, 2019
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Both of the drivers were uninjured and police said alcohol and drugs didn’t seem to be factors in the collision. A USB thumb drive was collected from the Tesla’s computer to determine if the driver was using the vehicle’s Autopilot feature. A CBS camera caught the driver being placed into custody. The 22-year-old driver has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and running a red light.
The owner of the car, Albert Kim, said that he rented his car to a woman at about 4PM on Saturday. He said he was notified by an app that his car had been in an accident on Sunday.
He said:
“The Tesla app sent me a message that my car was in an accident, not drivable, and was in an accident. I didn’t believe it. I accepted that risk because based on probability, it might happen, but nobody is protected from it, even if you’re a perfect driver. There is a probability that you might make a mistake. That’s why I’m not mad at the driver. I might actually pray for her, you know, she’s now in a difficult situation.”
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