Tesla's long-running list of crashes involving its vehicles smashing at full-speed into the rear end of parked first responder vehicles has a new tragic footnote. The latest killed the passenger-side occupant of the vehicle. This latest crash happened this past Sunday morning December 29th, 2019. The accident occurred at 8:00 am in the morning, in dry conditions and in broad daylight. The crash took place on Route I-70 in Indiana. This is the second crash of a Tesla vehicle into a parked firetruck in just this month.
Note: Where are the images? We have opted not to post the images of the crash scene since it involved a fatality. You can view them here if you wish.
We are no longer certain of the exact number of Tesla cars that have smashed into the rear of parked first responder vehicles, the accident list now becoming difficult to manage due to frequency. However, by our estimate, this is the sixth such crash. It is the first we know of that involved the death of an occupant in the Tesla vehicle. However, other crashes have of course resulted in fatalities on many occasions.
Indiana police say that drugs and alcohol are not considered to be a cause of this accident at this time. Police also have not yet said if this crash involved the use of Tesla's Autopilot driver-assist system, often referred to by many as "self-driving" technology. Torque News will update this story if a determination as to Autopilot's involvement is made.
Police say the following are the known circumstances surrounding this latest crash:
"A 2019 Tesla, driven by a Derrick N. Monet, age 25, of Prescott Valley, Arizona, failed to observe the emergency vehicle positioned in the passing lane of I-70, running into the back of the parked fire truck. Derrick Monet and a passenger, his wife, Jenna N. Monet, age 23, also of Prescott Valley, Arizona, received serious injuries from the impact. Both occupants had to be extricated and were transported to the hospital for immediate medical care. Jenna Monet later succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced deceased at Terre Haute Regional Hospital."