Self-driving Tesla hits and kills 71-year-old pedestrian on California freeway
Self-driving Tesla hits and kills 71-year-old pedestrian on California freeway
Suhauna HussainThu, October 22, 2026 at 5:32 PM UTC
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A CHP officer conducts a traffic stop in San Francisco.(Nathan Weyland / )
A 71-year-old man was killed early Thursday morning when a self-driving Tesla struck him as he was crossing Interstate 80 in Vallejo, the California Highway Patrol said.
Officers responded to a report of a crash on the westbound freeway around 2:35 a.m. Thursday, the CHP said. When emergency responders arrived, they found the man’s injuries had been fatal.
The Tesla driver, a 26-year-old man from San Francisco, told authorities the vehicle had been operating in full self-driving autonomous mode at the time of the crash, the CHP said.
The driver “was cooperative and remained on scene,” the CHP said, and provided officers with footage of the crash captured on the Tesla’s dashboard camera.
The CHP said its preliminary review of the video shows the Tesla traveling in the second lane at about 70 mph, when the man walked into the freeway from its right shoulder. He began crossing freeway lanes toward the center divide, stepping directly into the Tesla’s path. The video captures the brakes being applied and the car veering left to attempt to swerve around the pedestrian, the CHP said.
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“Despite these evasive actions, the right front portion of the Tesla struck the individual,” the CHP said.
The highway patrol said it appears the pedestrian was hit by a second vehicle while lying in the middle of traffic lanes. However, no other cars involved stopped, and the CHP said it doesn’t know the identities of the other drivers.
The CHP office in Solano is investigating the crash and is encouraging witnesses or those who have information about other vehicles involved to contact the office.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
