Jan. 3 (UPI) — Four people were hospitalized Monday after the Tesla they were in drove off a cliff along California’s Pacific Coast Highway at Devil’s Slide, authorities said.
The reason for the crash remained under investigation but emergency crews said the vehicle plunged several hundred feet down the cliff and flipped before landing on its wheels. The California Highway Patrol is conducting the investigation.
“Witnesses saw the accident and called 911,” said Fire Incident Commander Brian Pottenge, of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit.
“All four patients were successfully rescued and in stable condition. Two were taken by ground ambulance, two by helicopter.”
It is not known if Tesla’s autopilot system played a role in the crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in June 2022 said that there had been 273 reported crashes of Tesla vehicles using the company’s Autopilot software since July 2021.
The total represents 70% of the 392 total crashes using Level 2 ADAS advanced driver-assistance software reported to NHTSA as of May 15, 2022, the administration said. NHTSA said serious injuries or fatalities happened in 11 of the 98 crashes “where crash severity was reported (6 fatal and 5 serious).”
Tesla, Honda and Subaru reported the most Level 2 ADAS crashes, according to the NHTSA. California had 125 Level 2 ADAS crashes, more than any other state.
