Palm Harbor Driver Was Involved In First Self-Driving Tesla Accident
Michael Babboni
Trucking Accidents
On May 7, 2106, a wreck between a self-driving Tesla Model S sedan and a semi-truck occurred near Gainsville Florida. The accident happened when the electric powered Tesla sedan driven by Joshua D. Brown, 40 of Canton, Ohio, collided with a semi-truck trailer driven by Frank Baressi, 62, of Palm Harbor. The accident resulted in the fatality of Brown and has called into question the safety of self-driving vehicles.The accident occurred when the Tesla’s car cameras failed to distinguish the white side of the semi trailer while Baressi was making a turn and collided with the side of the vehicle. According to government reports released the first week of July, experts believe the reflection of the brightly lit sky against the white semi-trailer interfered with the vehicle’s ability to recognize the vehicle and automatically activate its brakes.
Preliminary reports indicated that the crash occurred on a divided highway southwest of Gainesville, Florida. Baressi’s truck was turning left at an intersection where there was no traffic light.
Firefighters arrived shortly after the accident and found that the Tesla had continued driving a few hundred feet from the crash site. Chief Danny Wallace of the Williston Fire Department told the Associated Press (AP) that the Tesla’s roof was completely sheared off. The firefighters pronounced Brown dead at the scene.
Baressi, the owner of Okemah Express LLC, was making a delivery that afternoon when Brown collided into him. He told police that “he went so fast through my trailer I didn’t see him.”
Baressi also believes that Brown was “playing Harry Potter on the TV screen” at the time of the accident. Stating though he didn’t see the movie, he could hear it playing. He went on to say that the movie “was still playing when he died and snapped a telephone pole a quarter mile down the road.”
Tesla Motors Inc. refuted Baressi’s assessment, saying it is not possible to watch movies on the touch screen of the Model S. Furthermore, police did not cite the movie in their reports.
Upon investigation of Brown’s driving record, the AP found he had eight speeding violations in the last six years, seven of which he obtained in Ohio and one in Virginia. A close friend of Brown’s and an insurance agent in Northwestern Ohio, stated he “had the need for speed” and was fearless and “kind of a daredevil.”
Brown’s family noted that he had a “passion for technological advancement.” They have been cooperating with the investigation to find the root cause of the accident and hope the “information learned from this tragedy will trigger further innovation which enhances the safety of everyone on the roadways.”
After the accident, Tesla founder Elon Musk expressed condolences in a tweet. Tesla Motors Inc. issued the following statement about Brown:
“A friend to Tesla and the broader EV (electric vehicle) community, a person who spent his life focused on innovation and the promise of technology and who believed strongly in Tesla's mission."
Tesla Motor Inc. went on to stress “Autopilot is getting better all the time, but it is not perfect and still requires the driver to remain alert. Drivers are recommended to keep both hands on the wheel at all times and “maintain control and responsibility” for their vehicles, going on to emphasize that at this point in the technological development, autopilot is an “assist feature.”
The accident has the public wondering about the future safety of self-driving vehicles. However Tesla assured that this was the first known death in over 130 million miles of autopilot operation.
The Gainesville accident is still under investigation through a cooperative effort the local police, Tesla Motors Inc., and the National Highway Safety and Traffic Administration.