Two men were killed after a Tesla vehicle, which authorities believe was traveling with no one in the driver’s seat, crashed into a tree north of Houston Saturday night.
One of the men was in the front passenger seat while the other was in the back seat of the Tesla, local press reported, citing an interview with Harris County Precinct 4 Sheriff Mark Herman.
The vehicle went through a curve at high speed before hitting a tree around 11:25 p.m. local time, the official told the newspaper.
“Our preliminary investigation is determining, but is not yet complete, that there was no one behind the wheel of that vehicle,” the sheriff said. “We are almost 99.9% sure.”
It took first responders about four hours and about 32,000 gallons of water to put out the fire, Herman said. Tesla and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did not respond to questions to comment on the case.
Authorities were still investigating as of Sunday morning whether the front passenger airbag was activated, the report added.
