Source: Tesla driver charged with vehicular manslaughter over fatal Autopilot crash | California | The Guardian California prosecutors have filed two counts of vehicular manslaughter against the driver of a Tesla on Autopilot who ran a red light, slammed into another car and killed two people in 2019. The defendant appears to be the first person to be charged with a felony in the United States for a fatal crash involving a motorist who was using a partially automated driving system. Los Angeles county prosecutors filed the charges in October, but they came to light only last week. The National Transportation Safety Board says the driver of a Tesla SUV who died in a Silicon Valley crash two years ago was playing a video game on his smartphone at the time. Chairman Robert Sumwalt said at the start of a hearing Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 that partially automated driving systems like Tesla’s Autopilot cannot drive themselves. Yet he says drivers continue to use them without paying attention. (KTVU-TV via AP, File) The driver, Kevin George Aziz Riad, 27, has pleaded not guilty. Riad, a limousine service driver, is free on bail while the case is pending. . . . In April 2019, I suffered a transient medical condition and AutoPilot kept the car in the lane and speed. Autopilot paid for itself that day. Bob Wilson
