Tesla disputes driver-assistance blame after deadly Texas crash

A Tesla Model 3 left the road, slammed into a brick house on Blooming Park Lane and killed 76-year-old Martha Avila inside on June 19 in Harris County, Texas. Tesla disputed claims that its driver-assistance software caused the crash. The crash happened around 8:03 p.m. in Katy, a Houston suburb. The car entered the residence at high speed after the driver, Michael Butler, failed to stay in a single lane.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office found no signs that Butler was intoxicated and said he was cooperative during the investigation. Butler told investigators Tesla’s driver-assistance system was engaged at the time of the crash. Tesla pushed back, saying Butler manually overrode the system by pressing the accelerator to 100%, raising the question of whether the software was in control or whether the driver remained fully responsible.

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system requires active driver supervision, is not autonomous and does not replace the driver. It can drive almost anywhere under supervision, but the vehicle still depends on a human behind the wheel to monitor the road and intervene when needed.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a probe on June 22, three days after the wreck. Its special crash investigations rely on scene evidence, vehicle inspection, interviews, police reports and medical records. The agency has opened nearly 50 special crash investigations involving Teslas since 2016, with about two dozen deaths in those cases.

Tesla’s regulatory record on driver assistance reaches back to the 2016 Williston, Florida, Autopilot crash, which drew a National Transportation Safety Board investigation after NHTSA opened a defect probe focused on the system.

In 2025, NHTSA opened a separate preliminary evaluation into Full Self-Driving (Supervised) over potential traffic-safety violations.