The household of a California couple who had been killed within the crash of their Tesla has named the carmaker in a wrongful-death swimsuit.
Mary Lou Seelandt, 66, and Karl Seelandt, 67, from Lompoc, died on July 6, 2022, when their 2015 Mannequin S hit the again of a tractor-trailer rig at a Florida freeway relaxation cease.
The swimsuit filed Tuesday in a federal courtroom in Florida says the automotive was “faulty” and that it “malfunctioned” whereas Mary Lou Seelandt was driving it “as supposed and designed.”
The swimsuit doesn't specify the alleged defect, but it surely does point out the automotive was geared up with “crash avoidance and crash mitigation options.”
The Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration despatched an investigative workforce to the crash web site. It has not issued its report on the incident or mentioned whether or not any driver-assistance options had been in use on the time.
The Florida Freeway Patrol report mentioned the Tesla left southbound Interstate 75 on the Paynes Prairie Relaxation Space simply earlier than 2 p.m. July 6. The place the exit cut up into two lanes — one for vehicles, the opposite for vehicles and buses — the Tesla veered towards the truck lot. It ran right into a parked Walmart truck; the entrance of the Tesla went underneath the trailer, and its roof was crushed by influence with the decrease edge.
The Seelandts, who had been retired, had been on a protracted driving journey that included their granddaughter’s first celebration, in Georgia, the Orlando Sentinel mentioned.
Along with investigating sure particular person crashes, the visitors security company has an ongoing probe of Teslas that bumped into emergency autos stopped on highways. Sixteen crashes are actually included in that investigation; the deadly crash of a Tesla into a hearth truck final month in Walnut Creek has not but been formally added.