2 dead in Tesla vehicle crash at Paynes Prairie rest area, FHP reports

Staff report
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Two people were killed in a Tesla vehicle accident Wednesday after their car ran off an interstate and crashed into a stationary Walmart semi-trailer truck, according to Florida Highway Patrol.

Law enforcement say the vehicle was traveling on Interstate 75 but for unknown reasons exited for the rest area near Paynes Prairie. The vehicle then struck a Walmart Freightliner tractor-trailer that was parked in the resting area.

The driver and passenger in the Tesla, a 66-year-old female and 67-year-old male from Lompoc, California, were pronounced dead at the scene.

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Gainesville Fire Rescue responded to the scene to extricate the victims from the car that was trapped beneath the back of the trailer.

FHP did not release the names of the victims and didn't say whether the vehicle was on autopilot, as details will be released following an investigation.

Tesla vehicles crashing while on autopilot have seen an increase in recent years.

Last month, The Washington Post reported a year's worth of data that showed 273 Teslas were involved in crashes while on autopilot, a special feature the car is widely known for.

The numbers, which were published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the first time in June showed Tesla vehicles made up nearly 70% of the 392 crashes involving advanced driver-assistance systems reported over the past year, The Post reported, as well as a majority of the fatalities and serious injuries.

In 2016, a man was killed in Levy County when his Tesla was in its autonomous mode. The vehicle was traveling along U.S. Highway 27 in Williston when it struck a semi-trailer truck after failing to detect the truck against a brightly lit sky.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Tesla vehicle crash into Walmart truck leaves 2 dead in Alachua County