Updated

Updated · Electrek · Aug 10

Kyle Shanahan Details July 14 Tesla Autopilot Crash That Left Him With 5 Injuries

Updated

Updated · Electrek · Aug 10

Kyle Shanahan Details July 14 Tesla Autopilot Crash That Left Him With 5 Injuries

Q: How did a mysterious police clerical error initially clear a high-profile head coach of fault in a brutal, distracted-driving crash?

A clerical mistake during transmission of the crash report to California’s state collision database wrongly flipped fault from Kyle Shanahan to the other driver, briefly making it appear that the 21-year-old woman had caused the crash. Palo Alto police later said the officer’s actual finding was that Shanahan was at fault. Lt. Nicolas Martinez said the error occurred “in the preparation of the report that was transmitted to the State database,” and that the department was correcting it. Police and team security officials also stressed that the California Highway Patrol was not responsible for the bad entry; the problem happened in the handoff from the Palo Alto Police Department to the state system. That faulty database entry was significant because it initially suggested the woman had made an unsafe turn, even as other details in the reporting pointed to Shanahan’s own distracted driving. Shanahan himself moved to correct the record, saying, “I hit her,” and explaining that his phone slipped between the seats, he looked down for about two seconds, and his Tesla drifted into oncoming traffic. The unresolved technical question is whether Tesla Autopilot malfunctioned or was disengaged when Shanahan reached for the phone. But Shanahan has repeatedly said that does not change responsibility. Police also said no citation was issued at the scene, describing that as an officer-discretion decision and saying neither driver received preferential treatment.

3 articles · Updated · Electrek · Aug 10

July 14 near Alma Street and Hamilton Avenue in Palo Alto, Shanahan said he looked down for about two seconds to grab a dropped iPhone while his Tesla was on Autopilot, drifted into oncoming traffic at about 20 mph and hit an SUV.
Shanahan suffered a concussion, broken nose, three broken ribs, a broken left hand and 40 stitches over his right eye; the 21-year-old woman driving the SUV was not seriously hurt.
Palo Alto police had initially logged the other driver as at fault, but Shanahan said "I hit her," and police later called the entry a clerical error; the responding officer issued no citation.
Shanahan said the crash showed drivers remain responsible even with Tesla's Level 2 system, adding that nine years of Autopilot use had made him "pretty comfortable" with the technology.