hasaikilledanyone.com

Self-driving & driver-assist · Last checked 12 September 2026

Have self-driving cars killed anyone?

Yes. As of 12 September 2026, courts, coroners or official investigators have found that a self-driving or driver-assist system caused or contributed to 5 deaths. A further 8 deaths are alleged in lawsuits, investigations or credible reporting but not proven.

5 deaths officially found to have been caused or contributed to by AI, by a court, coroner or government investigation.

8 more alleged in lawsuits, investigations and credible reporting, but not proven.

Every case

Robotaxis and machine-learning driver-assist systems such as Tesla Autopilot and Full Self-Driving. Confirmed cases first, then alleged, newest first.

  1. confirmed 25 April 2019 · United States

    Naibel Benavides Leon, 22, Florida: jury found Tesla's Autopilot partly responsible for her death

    1 death · Tesla Autopilot, 2019 Model S · Finding: US District Court for the Southern District of Florida (jury), Benavides v. Tesla, No. 1:21-cv-21940, 2025

  2. confirmed 1 March 2019 · United States

    Jeremy Banner, 50, Florida: Tesla on Autopilot drove under a crossing truck

    1 death · Tesla Autopilot (Traffic-Aware Cruise Control + Autosteer), 2018 Model 3 · Finding: US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Highway Accident Brief NTSB/HAB-20/01, 2020

  3. confirmed 23 March 2018 · United States

    Walter Huang, 38, California: Tesla Autopilot steered his car into a highway barrier

    1 death · Tesla Autopilot (Traffic-Aware Cruise Control + Autosteer), 2017 Model X P100D · Finding: US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), report NTSB/HAR-20/01, 2020

  4. confirmed 18 March 2018 · United States

    Elaine Herzberg, 49, Arizona: killed by an Uber self-driving test car

    1 death · Uber ATG developmental automated driving system (lidar/radar/camera perception and classification), modified 2017 Volvo XC90 · Finding: US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), report NTSB/HAR-19/03, 2019

  5. confirmed 7 May 2016 · United States

    Joshua Brown, 40, Florida: Tesla on Autopilot drove under a crossing truck

    1 death · Tesla Autopilot (first generation: Traffic-Aware Cruise Control + Autosteer), 2015 Model S 70D · Finding: US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), report NTSB/HAR-17/02, 2017

  6. alleged 19 April 2024 · United States

    Jeffrey Nissen, 28, Washington: family alleges Tesla's driver-assist system caused fatal crash

    1 death · Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised), 2022 Model S

  7. alleged 28 November 2023 · United States

    Johna Story, 71, Arizona: family alleged Tesla's Full Self-Driving failed in low visibility

    1 death · Tesla Full Self-Driving (FSD Beta / FSD Supervised), Model Y

  8. alleged 18 February 2023 · United States

    Genesis Mendoza Martinez, 31, California: family alleged Tesla misrepresented Autopilot

    1 death · Tesla Autopilot, Model S

  9. alleged July 2022 · United States

    Landon Embry, 34, Utah: family alleges Tesla Autopilot failed to detect his motorcycle

    1 death · Tesla Autopilot, Model 3

  10. alleged 29 December 2019 · United States

    Gilberto Alcazar Lopez and Maria Guadalupe Nieves-Lopez, California: families alleged Autopilot contributed

    2 deaths · Tesla Autopilot (Autosteer + Traffic-Aware Cruise Control), Model S

  11. alleged 24 August 2019 · United States

    Jovani Maldonado, 15, California: family alleged Tesla Autopilot defects in fatal crash

    1 death · Tesla Autopilot, Model 3

  12. alleged 20 January 2016 · China

    Gao Yaning, 23, China: family alleges Tesla Autopilot contributed to fatal crash

    1 death · Tesla Autopilot (first generation), Model S

Not counted here

Cases people often associate with self-driving and driver-assist systems that don't meet our standard, and why.

Questions

Have self-driving cars killed anyone?
Yes. As of 12 September 2026, courts, coroners or official investigators have found that a self-driving or driver-assist system caused or contributed to 5 deaths. A further 8 deaths are alleged in lawsuits, investigations or credible reporting but not proven.
How many deaths have self-driving and driver-assist systems been linked to?
As of 12 September 2026: 5 deaths officially confirmed and 8 deaths alleged, across 12 cases. Confirmed means a court, coroner, government investigation or regulator has formally found the system caused or contributed to the death. Alleged means it is blamed in a lawsuit, an official complaint, an open investigation or credible reporting, but that hasn't been proven.
Where do these numbers come from?
Every case links to its sources: court records, official investigation reports and reporting by established news organisations. The record is checked against the news every day, and each change must pass source and accuracy checks before it is published.

How we decide what counts

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