Tesla is facing a lawsuit after a driver claimed the company’s full self driving system caused a crash involving a Cybertruck in Houston, Texas.
According to court documents filed in Harris County Court, the driver, Justine Saint Amour, was using Tesla’s Full Self Driving (Supervised) system in August last year while travelling on the 69 Eastex Freeway.
The lawsuit alleges that as the Cybertruck approached a Y shaped junction near the Houston Metro 256 Eastex Park and Ride, the vehicle should have followed the right hand curve of the freeway.
Instead, the system allegedly attempted to continue straight toward a concrete barrier. The driver reportedly tried to take control of the vehicle just before the impact but was unable to avoid the crash.
Dashcam footage reviewed by Chron reportedly shows the Cybertruck attempting to follow the curve before striking the barrier.
The lawsuit says Saint Amour suffered several injuries, including herniated discs in her lower back and neck, sprained wrist tendons and nerve damage.
The legal claim also argues that Tesla’s reliance on a camera based system rather than radar or LiDAR sensors contributed to the incident.
“Tesla’s decisions made Justine’s accident inevitable,” Saint Amour’s lawyer Bob Hilliard told Chron.
“This company wants drivers to believe and trust their life on a lie: that the vehicle can self-drive and that it can do so safely. It can’t, and it doesn’t.”
The lawsuit accuses Tesla of negligence and is seeking more than one million dollars in damages.
