US road safety regulators have sent a team to investigate a crash involving a Tesla that may have been operating on a partially automated driving system when it struck a student who had just got off a school bus.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it will investigate the crash in Halifax County, North Carolina on March 15th which injured a 17-year-old student.
The State Highway Patrol said the driver of the 2022 Tesla Model Y, a 51-year-old man, failed to stop for the bus, which was displaying all its activated warning devices.
Sending special investigation teams to crashes means the agency suspects Teslas were operating systems that can handle some aspects of driving, including Autopilot and Full Self-Driving.
Despite the names, Tesla says these are driver-assist systems and drivers must be ready to intervene at all times.
Tillman Mitchell, a student at Haliwa-Saponi Tribal School in Hollister, had just got off the bus and was walking across the street to his house when he was hit, according to the Highway Patrol.
He was flown to hospital with life-threatening injuries but was listed in good condition two days after the crash.
