First Murder Charge Filed Against US Driver Using Tesla Autopilot Feature

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] For the first time, a U.S. driver who caused a fatal accident while driving with Tesla's Autopilot, a driver-assistance feature, has been charged with murder.

On the 18th (local time), according to the AP News, the Los Angeles (LA) County Prosecutor's Office charged Tesla driver Kevin George Aziz Liard (27) with murder.

The prosecution indicted Liard last October, but the court documents containing the related details were recently made public.

According to the prosecution, Liard caused a collision accident at an intersection in Gardena near LA in December 2019. Liard was speeding while ignoring a traffic light with Tesla Autopilot engaged and collided with an oncoming passenger car, resulting in two deaths.

AP News reported, "This is the first time a regular driver, not a test vehicle for autonomous driving features, has been charged with murder related to an accident involving the Autopilot function."

Bryant Walker Smith, a professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law who studies autonomous vehicle-related cases, said, "This is the first case of prosecution related to automated driving systems," and predicted, "Tesla could be held criminally and civilly liable."

Donald Slavic, a lawyer specializing in autonomous vehicle accidents, said that before this indictment, there were no other cases where a regular driver using driver-assistance features was charged with a felony.

Autopilot is an automatic feature that assists with steering, acceleration, and braking, and it comes standard on Tesla vehicles.

Although this feature is intended to assist drivers, some drivers in the U.S. perceive it as a fully autonomous driving system, leading to a series of accidents.

Currently, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating 26 collision accidents related to Autopilot that have occurred since 2016.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.