Family Sues Tesla Over Motorcyclist’s Crash Death

The parents of a motorcyclist who was killed in a 2022 crash involving a Tesla Model 3 on Autopilot in Utah sued the electric carmaker and the vehicle’s driver, claiming that the driver assistant software and other safety features are “defective and inadequate”

According to the lawsuit filed in state court in Salt Lake City last week, Landon Embry, 34, passed away on the spot after the Model 3 struck the rear of his Harley Davidson motorcycle at a speed of 75-80 miles per hour, causing him to be thrown from the bike.

It is alleged in the lawsuit that the driver of the Model 3 was “tired” and “not in a condition to drive as an ordinarily prudent driver.”

The complaint stated that the Autopilot sensors, including cameras, “should have identified the hazard posed by the Decedent’s motorcycle in its presence.”

“A reasonably prudent driver, or adequate auto braking system, would have and could have slowed or stopped without colliding with the motorcycle,” according to the complaint.

Tesla’s driver assistant systems, Autopilot and Full Self-Driving are increasingly under scrutiny due to the lawsuit.

This week, police announced that a 28-year-old motorcyclist was struck and slain by a Tesla Model S vehicle in the Seattle area in April of this year while the vehicle was in “Full Self-Driving” mode.

Tesla settled a lawsuit in April regarding a 2018 accident that resulted in the death of an Apple engineer. The engineer’s Model X, operating on Autopilot, veered off an interstate near San Francisco.