alleged
Yoshihiro Umeda, 44, Japan: family alleged Tesla Autopilot caused the crash that killed him
On 29 April 2018 Yoshihiro Umeda, 44, was standing beside parked motorcycles on the Tomei Expressway near Tokyo, helping at the scene of an earlier crash, when he was struck and killed by a Tesla Model X. A US federal court order in the family's later lawsuit records that the Autopilot system was engaged at the time, and the Ninth Circuit's memorandum describes the car as operating in Autopilot mode. His widow and daughter sued Tesla in the US District Court for the Northern District of California in April 2020. According to Newsweek's report of the filing, the family alleged that the car, with Traffic Aware Cruise Control engaged, accelerated after the vehicle in front changed lanes and that Tesla's system failed to recognise the pedestrians and brake; the filing called the technology defective. Tesla says Autopilot is intended for use only with a fully attentive driver with hands on the wheel and does not make its cars autonomous. The US case was dismissed on forum non conveniens grounds in September 2020, subject to conditions including that Tesla accept service in Japan, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed that dismissal on 3 January 2022. No court has made any finding on Autopilot's role in the death.
- Status
- Alleged, not proven
- Deaths
- 1
- Date
- 29 April 2018
- Place
- Tomei Expressway, near Tokyo, Japan
- AI system
- Tesla Autopilot
- Developer / operator
- Tesla
- Named
- Yoshihiro Umeda
Why this case is “alleged”
No court, coroner or official investigation has yet found that Tesla 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
Umeda v. Tesla, Inc., No. 5:20-cv-02926-SVK (N.D. Cal.), filed April 2020. The court granted Tesla's motion to dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds on 23 September 2020 on conditions, including that Tesla accept service of process in Japan and that any Japanese judgment be enforceable against it. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed on 3 January 2022 (No. 21-15286, unpublished memorandum). The dismissal was on forum grounds and not on the merits; no decision on Autopilot's role has been reported.
Notes
The Tesla's driver was convicted of criminal negligence in a Japanese court and given a three-year prison sentence suspended for five years, according to the US district court's order; that conviction concerned the driver, not the Autopilot system.
Sources
- Umeda v. Tesla Inc. — Order granting defendant's motion to dismiss on grounds of forum non conveniens
- Tomomi Umeda v. Tesla, Inc., No. 21-15286 (9th Cir. 2022) — memorandum
- Tesla Faces Lawsuit after Model X on Autopilot with 'Dozing Driver' Blamed for Fatal Crash