{"id":2182,"date":"2026-07-03T18:39:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T18:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2182"},"modified":"2026-07-03T18:39:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T18:39:59","slug":"tesla-driver-charged-with-manslaughter-over-crash-into-texas-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2182","title":{"rendered":"Tesla driver charged with manslaughter over crash into Texas home"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Texas man has been charged with manslaughter after driving a Tesla operating with its automated driving assistance system into a suburban Houston home, killing a 76-year-old grandmother, court papers show.<\/p>\n

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Michael David Butler, 44, told police he was operating his Model 3 in Full Self-Driving mode on June 19 when he plowed into Martha Avila\u2019s home in Katy, Texas, and told paramedics \u201cthe car was on \u2018Autopilot,\u2019\u201d according to court papers. Avila died later at a nearby hospital.<\/p>\n

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According to an arrest affidavit, Butler said he was making a DoorDash delivery run when he changed the music on the Tesla\u2019s touch screen, and eventually \u201cpassed out.\u201d<\/p>\n

His speed reached 73 miles per hour, more than double the legal limit, and the brake pedal wasn\u2019t used in the minute before the crash, the affidavit said. Butler denied having felt ill, and no alcohol or common street drugs were in his system, the affidavit said.<\/p>\n

A lawyer for Butler did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Harris County prosecutors did not immediately respond to a similar request.<\/p>\n

Tesla has disputed Butler\u2019s recollections, with Chief Executive Elon Musk saying a vehicle in Full Self-Driving mode \u201cdrives slowly through neighborhood streets\u201d and a software vice president saying Butler manually overrode that mode by flooring the accelerator.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n

According to KHOU television, Butler appeared in probable cause court on Thursday where bail was set at $150,000, with requirements that he wear an ankle monitor and not drive.<\/p>\n

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been investigating the crash, and has since 2016 opened nearly 50 special investigations of Tesla crashes believed to involve advanced driver assistance systems. About two dozen deaths were reported.<\/p>\n

Tesla has said its Autopilot system enables vehicles to steer, accelerate and brake within their lanes, while Full Self-Driving lets vehicles obey traffic signals and change lanes. Both require \u201cfully attentive\u201d drivers, it has said.<\/p>\n

Avila\u2019s family sued Tesla last week, saying her wrongful death reflected the electric vehicle maker\u2019s gross negligence and failure to warn that its self-driving systems were defective.<\/p>\n

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A Texas man has been charged with manslaughter after driving a Tesla operating with its automated driving assistance system into a suburban Houston home, killing a 76-year-old grandmother, court papers show.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTesla driver charged with manslaughter over crash into Texas home - Trusted Moving Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2182\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tesla driver charged with manslaughter over crash into Texas home - 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