confirmed
Jeremy Banner, 50, Florida: Tesla on Autopilot drove under a crossing truck
A 2018 Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot engaged struck a truck-tractor semitrailer crossing US-441 at 69 mph without braking, shearing off the car's roof; the driver died. The NTSB found the truck driver's failure to yield and the car driver's overreliance on automation caused the crash, with Tesla's system design and failure to limit use to its design conditions contributing.
- Status
- Confirmed by an official finding
- Deaths
- 1
- Date
- 1 March 2019
- Place
- Delray Beach, Florida, United States
- AI system
- Tesla Autopilot (Traffic-Aware Cruise Control + Autosteer), 2018 Model 3
- Developer / operator
- Tesla
- Named
- Jeremy Banner
The finding
Probable cause: the truck driver's failure to yield, combined with the car driver's inattention due to overreliance on automation. Contributing: the operational design of Tesla's partial automation system, which permitted driver disengagement, and Tesla's failure to limit use of the system to the conditions for which it was designed; also NHTSA's failure to develop a way to verify Level 2 safeguards.
Legal status
The Banner estate's lawsuit (Palm Beach County) was curtailed when Florida's 4th District Court of Appeal ruled on 26 February 2025 that the estate could not seek punitive damages; the family settled with Tesla on confidential terms in July 2025, before trial.
Sources
- Collision Between Car Operating with Partial Driving Automation and Truck-Tractor Semitrailer, Delray Beach, Florida, March 1, 2019 (HAB-20/01)
- Investigation HWY19FH008
- Court shields Tesla from punitive damages