Latest news with #NaibelBenavides
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Landmark Tesla trial after ‘autopilot car runs red light & kills stargazing woman sending her flying 75ft through air'
A LANDMARK trial against Tesla has begun after one of the company's self-driving cars killed a woman as she was stargazing with her boyfriend. Naibel Benavides, a university student, was sent flying 75ft through the air after she was hit by a Tesla that allegedly ran through a red light and a stop sign in Florida. 4 Naibel Benavides and her boyfriend Dillon Angulo who was involved in a Tesla car crash in 2019 Credit: NBC 4 Naibel Benavides (R), a university student, was sent flying 22m through the air after she was hit by a Tesla Credit: NBC 4 The trial began Monday in Miami, with a jury to decide if Elon Musk's company is partly to blame for the death of Naibel Credit: Getty Naibel's boyfriend was left seriously injured in the 2019 incident, while her body was found in a wooded area following the harrowing smash. The trial began Monday in Miami, with a jury to decide if Elon Musk's company is partly to blame for Naibel's death. Lawyers argue that Tesla's driver-assistance feature - Autopilot - should have warned the driver and braked before the tragic crash. The Model S blew through flashing red lights as well as a a stop sign and a T-intersection at nearly a staggering 70 miles an hour in the April 2019 crash, it's alleged. read more news Tesla lays the blame solely on the driver, who was reaching for a dropped mobile phone at the time. George McGee, who was behind the wheel, was sued separately by the plaintiffs before reaching a settlement with the victims' families. Tesla said in a statement: "The evidence clearly shows that this crash had nothing to do with Teslas Autopilot technology. "Instead, like so many unfortunate accidents since cellphones were invented, this was caused by a distracted driver." Most read in The US Sun Musk's company has continuously worked to convince the public its self-driving technology is safe during a planned rollout of hundreds of thousands of Tesla robotaxis on US roads by the end of next year. A jury trial is rare for the company - with past suits over crashes being often dismissed or settled. Heartstopping moment self-driving car smashes into van parked in driveway as driver is slapped with a ticket And what's more, this case could be the rarest one yet as a judge recently ruled that the family of the stricken Naibel can argue for punitive damages. The 2021 lawsuit alleges the driver relied on Autopilot to reduce speed or come to a stop when it detected objects in its way. This included a parked Chevrolet Tahoe that Naibel and her boyfriend had gotten out of near Key West, to look up at the sky. The Tesla rammed the couple's car at highway speeds, causing it to rotate and slam into Naibel, throwing her into a wooded area and tragically killing her. In legal documents, Tesla denied nearly all of the lawsuits allegations and said it expects that consumers will follow warnings in the vehicle and instructions in the owners manual, as well as comply with driving laws. Tesla warns owners in manuals that its cars cannot drive themselves and they need to be ready to intervene at all times. Lawyers argue that Tesla should have a geofence on Autopilot so it could only work on the big roads it was designed for rather than smaller ones. They also say data and video evidence shows the Autopilot did detect the couple's car but then failed to warn the driver as they claim it should have done. Tesla has since improved its driver-assistance and partial self-driving features , but still faces lawsuits and investigations over what critics say is a gap between its depictions of how well they work and the actual reality of what they can do. In 2023, federal auto safety regulators recalled 2.3 million Teslas for problems with Autopilot failing to sufficiently alert drivers if they weren't paying attention to the road. They then put Tesla under investigation last year for saying it fixed the problem - though it was unclear it actually did that. Musk has also continued to suggest that Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology allows cars to drive themselves - despite warnings from regulators not to do so as it could lead to over-reliance on the systems, crashes and deaths. The technology has been involved in three fatal crashes and is under investigation of its ability to see in low-visibility conditions such as sunlight glare or fog. 4 Lawyers argue that Tesla should have a geofence on Autopilot so it could only work on the big roads it was designed for rather than smaller ones Credit: AFP
The Sun
a day ago
- Automotive
- The Sun
Landmark Tesla trial after ‘autopilot car runs red light & kills stargazing woman sending her flying 75ft through air'
A LANDMARK trial against Tesla has begun after one of the company's self-driving cars killed a woman as she was stargazing with her boyfriend. Naibel Benavides, a university student, was sent flying 75ft through the air after she was hit by a Tesla that allegedly ran through a red light and a stop sign in Florida. 4 4 4 Naibel's boyfriend was left seriously injured in the 2019 incident, while her body was found in a wooded area following the harrowing smash. The trial began Monday in Miami, with a jury to decide if Elon Musk's company is partly to blame for Naibel's death. Lawyers argue that Tesla's driver-assistance feature - Autopilot - should have warned the driver and braked before the tragic crash. The Model S blew through flashing red lights as well as a a stop sign and a T-intersection at nearly a staggering 70 miles an hour in the April 2019 crash, it's alleged. Tesla lays the blame solely on the driver, who was reaching for a dropped mobile phone at the time. George McGee, who was behind the wheel, was sued separately by the plaintiffs before reaching a settlement with the victims' families. Tesla said in a statement: "The evidence clearly shows that this crash had nothing to do with Teslas Autopilot technology. "Instead, like so many unfortunate accidents since cellphones were invented, this was caused by a distracted driver." Musk's company has continuously worked to convince the public its self-driving technology is safe during a planned rollout of hundreds of thousands of Tesla robotaxis on US roads by the end of next year. A jury trial is rare for the company - with past suits over crashes being often dismissed or settled. Heartstopping moment self-driving car smashes into van parked in driveway as driver is slapped with a ticket And what's more, this case could be the rarest one yet as a judge recently ruled that the family of the stricken Naibel can argue for punitive damages. The 2021 lawsuit alleges the driver relied on Autopilot to reduce speed or come to a stop when it detected objects in its way. This included a parked Chevrolet Tahoe that Naibel and her boyfriend had gotten out of near Key West, to look up at the sky. The Tesla rammed the couple's car at highway speeds, causing it to rotate and slam into Naibel, throwing her into a wooded area and tragically killing her. In legal documents, Tesla denied nearly all of the lawsuits allegations and said it expects that consumers will follow warnings in the vehicle and instructions in the owners manual, as well as comply with driving laws. Tesla warns owners in manuals that its cars cannot drive themselves and they need to be ready to intervene at all times. Lawyers argue that Tesla should have a geofence on Autopilot so it could only work on the big roads it was designed for rather than smaller ones. They also say data and video evidence shows the Autopilot did detect the couple's car but then failed to warn the driver as they claim it should have done. Tesla has since improved its driver-assistance and partial self-driving features, but still faces lawsuits and investigations over what critics say is a gap between its depictions of how well they work and the actual reality of what they can do. In 2023, federal auto safety regulators recalled 2.3 million Teslas for problems with Autopilot failing to sufficiently alert drivers if they weren't paying attention to the road. They then put Tesla under investigation last year for saying it fixed the problem - though it was unclear it actually did that. Musk has also continued to suggest that Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology allows cars to drive themselves - despite warnings from regulators not to do so as it could lead to over-reliance on the systems, crashes and deaths. The technology has been involved in three fatal crashes and is under investigation of its ability to see in low-visibility conditions such as sunlight glare or fog. 4
The Independent
2 days ago
- Automotive
- The Independent
Tesla goes to trial over Autopilot crash that killed stargazing student
A jury will decide whether Tesla is partly to blame for the death of a university student, after a runaway car sent her flying while she was stargazing. Naibel Benavides Leon and her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, had got out of a Chevrolet Tahoe near Key West, Florida, to look up at the sky in April 2019. George McGee was driving a Tesla Model S sedan which blew through flashing red lights, a stop sign and a T-intersection at nearly 70 miles an hour before ramming into the Tahoe and sending it into a spin. The Tahoe, in turn, slammed into Benavides and sent her flying 75 feet through the air, killing her. Angulo was also seriously injured in the incident. Lawyers for the plaintiff argue that Tesla's driver-assistance feature, Autopilot, should have warned McGee and braked. Elon Musk 's company lays the blame solely on McGee, who was reaching for a dropped cell phone. 'The evidence clearly shows that this crash had nothing to do with Tesla's Autopilot technology,' Tesla said in a statement. 'Instead, like so many unfortunate accidents since cellphones were invented, this was caused by a distracted driver.' McGee was sued separately by the plaintiffs. That case was settled. A judgement against Tesla could be especially damaging as the company works to convince the public its self-driving technology is safe during a planned rollout of hundreds of thousands of Tesla robotaxis on U.S. roads by the end of 2026. A jury trial is rare for the company, which often settles lawsuits, and this one is rarer yet because a judge recently ruled that Benavides' family can argue for punitive damages. The judge, Beth Bloom of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, issued a partial summary judgement in June, throwing out charges of defective manufacturing and negligent misrepresentation against Tesla. But she also ruled plaintiffs could argue other claims that would make the company liable and ask for punitive damages, which could prove costly. 'A reasonable jury could find that Tesla acted in reckless disregard of human life for the sake of developing their product and maximizing profit,' Bloom said in a filing. The 2021 lawsuit alleges the driver relied on Autopilot to reduce speed or come to a stop when it detected objects in its way. In legal documents, Tesla denied nearly all of the lawsuit's allegations and said it expects that consumers will follow warnings in the vehicle and instructions in the owners' manual, as well as comply with driving laws. Tesla warns owners in manuals that its cars cannot drive themselves and they need to be ready to intervene at all times.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tesla on trial after runaway car on Autopilot kills stargazing woman
A jury will decide whether Tesla is partly to blame for the death of a young woman who was hit by an electric car on Autopilot. Naibel Benavides was stargazing at the time of the collision, which sent her flying 22m (75ft) through the air in Florida. Her boyfriend was seriously injured in the 2019 incident, while her body was discovered in a wooded area. George McGee, the Tesla's driver, is not a plaintiff - and reached a separate settlement with the victims' families. Lawyers argue that the car's driver assistance feature should have warned the driver and braked before the collision. It is alleged the Model S sedan blew through red flights and a stop sign at nearly 70mph. But Tesla claims that the driver is solely to blame because he had reached down to pick up a dropped mobile phone at the time. In a statement, the company said: "The evidence clearly shows that this crash had nothing to do with Tesla's Autopilot technology. "Instead, like so many unfortunate accidents since cell phones were invented, this was caused by a distracted driver." Past cases against Tesla have been dismissed or settled, making this jury trial rare. Improvements to the company's driver assistance and partial self-driving features have been made in recent years - but in 2023, 2.3 million Tesla vehicles were recalled amid fears Autopilot was failing to sufficiently alert drivers not paying attention to the road. According to Sky's US partner network NBC News, Elon Musk was not in court as jury selection took place on Monday. Three potential jurors said they would struggle to be fair and impartial to Tesla because of the company's "ethics and ownership". After the jury was selected, a lawyer representing the victims said: "Evidence will show for years before and after this crime, Tesla ignored warnings." They added: "This is a case about shared responsibility. Tesla will take no responsibility for the failures of their Autopilot system. Evidence will show that every actor needs a stage and Tesla set the stage for the preventable actions that bring us here." The jury was also told that evidence will be introduced where Musk publicly declared that Tesla vehicles were "safer than a human".
Sky News
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Sky News
Tesla faces rare trial over death of young woman hit by electric car on Autopilot
A jury will decide whether Tesla is partly to blame for the death of a young woman who was hit by an electric car on Autopilot. Naibel Benavides was stargazing at the time of the collision, which sent her flying 22m (75ft) through the air in Florida. Her boyfriend was seriously injured in the 2019 incident, while her body was discovered in a wooded area. George McGee, the Tesla's driver, is not a plaintiff - and reached a separate settlement with the victims' families. Lawyers argue that the car's driver assistance feature should have warned the driver and braked before the collision. It is alleged the Model S sedan blew through red flights and a stop sign at nearly 70mph. But Tesla claims that the driver is solely to blame because he had reached down to pick up a dropped mobile phone at the time. In a statement, the company said: "The evidence clearly shows that this crash had nothing to do with Tesla's Autopilot technology. "Instead, like so many unfortunate accidents since cell phones were invented, this was caused by a distracted driver." Past cases against Tesla have been dismissed or settled, making this jury trial rare. Improvements to the company's driver assistance and partial self-driving features have been made in recent years - but in 2023, 2.3 million Tesla vehicles were recalled amid fears Autopilot was failing to sufficiently alert drivers not paying attention to the road. According to Sky's US partner network NBC News, Elon Musk was not in court as jury selection took place on Monday. Three potential jurors said they would struggle to be fair and impartial to Tesla because of the company's "ethics and ownership". After the jury was selected, a lawyer representing the victims said: "Evidence will show for years before and after this crime, Tesla ignored warnings." They added: "This is a case about shared responsibility. Tesla will take no responsibility for the failures of their Autopilot system. Evidence will show that every actor needs a stage and Tesla set the stage for the preventable actions that bring us here." The jury was also told that evidence will be introduced where Musk publicly declared that Tesla vehicles were "safer than a human".
