alleged
Martha Avila, 76, Texas: family alleges Tesla's driver-assist system caused the crash that killed her
On 19 June 2026 a Tesla Model 3 left a residential street in Katy, Texas, and crashed into a house, fatally injuring Martha Avila Mantilla, 76, who was inside. Her daughter and son-in-law filed a wrongful-death suit in Harris County state court against Tesla and the driver, Michael Butler, accusing Tesla of a design defect and alleging the vehicle failed to detect the end of the street and the house ahead; the family seeks more than $1m plus punitive damages. According to Al Jazeera, the complaint alleges Tesla failed to adequately warn drivers about claimed defects in its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems. Tesla disputes that its software was driving at the moment of the crash: its head of AI software, Ashok Elluswamy, said vehicle data shows the driver overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator fully, and Elon Musk said Full Self-Driving drives slowly on neighbourhood streets while this was a high-speed crash. The National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report says the driver had engaged Full Self-Driving (Supervised) and that recorded data indicates he then manually overrode it with the accelerator pedal, with the car travelling at more than 70 mph; the NTSB investigation is open and no probable cause has been determined, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a special crash investigation.
- Status
- Alleged, not proven
- Deaths
- 1
- Date
- 19 June 2026
- Place
- Texas, United States
- AI system
- Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) / Autopilot
- Developer / operator
- Tesla
- Named
- Martha Avila Mantilla
Why this case is “alleged”
No court, coroner or official investigation has yet found that Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) / Autopilot caused or contributed to this death. The case is listed because it meets our standard for a credible allegation. It will move to the confirmed count only if an official body makes such a finding.
Legal status
Wrongful-death suit filed on 23 June 2026 by Jennifer and Justin Barbour in Harris County, Texas, state court against Tesla and the driver, Michael Butler, seeking more than $1m in damages plus punitive damages. NTSB investigation HWY26FH014 is ongoing; a preliminary report was released on 15 July 2026 and the Board states that all aspects of the crash remain under investigation while it determines probable cause. NHTSA has opened a special crash investigation. No court, coroner or regulator has made any finding on the role of Tesla's driver-assist software in this death.
Notes
The NTSB preliminary report records that electronic data shows the driver manually overrode Full Self-Driving (Supervised) by pressing the accelerator pedal to 100% before the crash; the Board has not determined probable cause. The case is recorded as alleged solely because a filed lawsuit blames the design of the driver-assist system.
Sources
- Passenger Vehicle Collision with Residence (HWY26FH014) - preliminary report
- Family sues Tesla for wrongful death in Autopilot crash in Texas, US
- Family files wrongful death suit following Tesla crash in Texas
- Tesla admits FSD was on in fatal Texas crash, blames driver for 'overriding' it