Tesla driver overrode Full Self Driving in fatal Texas crash

A 2025 Tesla Model 3 was manually overridden before it slammed into a Katy home and killed 76-year-old Martha Avila, the National Transportation Safety Board found. The 44-year-old driver had engaged Tesla’s Full-Self-Driving (Supervised) system, then fully depressed the accelerator, pushing the car to more than 70 mph in a 30 mph zone.

The crash happened about 8:03 p.m. on June 19 on Rose Hollow Lane in Harris County, Texas, when the eastbound car left the roadway, partially entered a driveway and struck the residence. The vehicle was occupied only by the driver, Michael Butler. Avila later died of her injuries at a nearby hospital.

Tesla software executive Ashok Elluswamy said last month that the driver had overridden self-driving by pressing the accelerator to 100 percent, and NTSB data recovered from the vehicle matched that account. Full-Self-Driving (Supervised) requires active supervision, is not fully autonomous and does not replace the driver. The owner’s manual says the driver must pay attention to the road, surrounding traffic and other road users, and that the cabin camera monitors attentiveness while the system is engaged.

Butler was arrested and charged with manslaughter, booked into Harris County Jail and later given a $150,000 bond. Jennifer Barbour and Justin Barbour, Avila’s daughter and son-in-law, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Tesla and Butler in Harris County District Court just days after the crash, alleging that the automated-driving system contributed to Avila’s death. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a separate special investigation into the incident. The agency has opened nearly 50 Tesla crash investigations tied to advanced driver-assistance systems since 2016, with about two dozen deaths reported.