U.S. agency probes 12th Tesla crash tied to possible Autopilot use

[December 14, 2019]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. auto safety agency said Friday it will investigate a 12th Tesla crash that may be tied to the vehicle's advanced Autopilot driver assistance system after a Tesla Model 3 rear-ended a parked police car in Connecticut on Saturday.

A new Tesla Model 3 is shown at a delivery center on the last day of the company's third quarter, in San Diego, California, September 30, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration special crash investigation program will investigate the Dec. 7 crash of a 2018 Tesla Model 3 on Interstate 95 in Norwalk, Connecticut, the agency confirmed.

Autopilot has been engaged in at least three fatal U.S. Tesla crashes since 2016. The agency’s special crash investigation team has inspected 12 crashes involving Tesla vehicles where it was believed Autopilot was engaged at the time of the incident. To date, the agency has completed reports on two of them: a 2016 fatal crash in Florida in which Autopilot was engaged and a prior crash where Autopilot was ruled out as a factor.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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