Tesla driver faces manslaughter charges over Texas crash that killed a woman inside her home
Tesla driver faces manslaughter charges over Texas crash that killed a woman inside her home
特斯拉司机因德州车祸致一名女子在家中身亡而面临过失杀人指控
The man whose Tesla struck and killed a woman inside her Texas home last month is now facing manslaughter charges, as reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal and local news outlet KHOU 11. 44-year-old Michael Butler was arrested on Wednesday and claimed to have been driving his Model 3 using Tesla’s Full-Self Driving (FSD) system at the time of the crash, according to an arrest affidavit. 据《华尔街日报》和当地新闻媒体 KHOU 11 此前报道，上个月一名男子驾驶特斯拉撞入德克萨斯州一处民宅，导致屋内一名女子死亡，目前该男子正面临过失杀人指控。根据逮捕宣誓书，44 岁的迈克尔·巴特勒（Michael Butler）于周三被捕，他声称在车祸发生时，他的 Model 3 正在使用特斯拉的“全自动驾驶”（FSD）系统。
The court document includes the officer saying that data extraction from Butler’s phone found several FSD-related Google searches from May 2026: “Tesla fsd not aggressive enough 2026 model,” “tesla fsdnot [sic] aggressive enough 2026,” “tesla fsdnot [sic] aggressive enough,” “FSD is not aggressive enough for city driving,” “tesla fsdnot [sic] aggressive enough,” and “tesla fsd too timid.” 法庭文件援引警官的话称，从巴特勒手机中提取的数据显示，他在 2026 年 5 月曾多次在谷歌上搜索与 FSD 相关的内容，包括：“特斯拉 FSD 2026 款不够激进”、“特斯拉 FSD 2026 款不够激进”、“特斯拉 FSD 不够激进”、“FSD 不适合城市驾驶”、“特斯拉 FSD 不够激进”以及“特斯拉 FSD 太胆小”。
On June 19th, 76-year-old Martha Avila was killed after Butler’s vehicle plowed through her home in a residential neighborhood in Katy, Texas. Tesla AI head Ashok Elluswamy responded shortly after in a tweet, saying the driver “manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100%.” 6 月 19 日，76 岁的玛莎·阿维拉（Martha Avila）在巴特勒的车辆冲入其位于德克萨斯州凯蒂市（Katy）住宅区的家中后不幸身亡。特斯拉人工智能主管阿肖克·埃卢斯瓦米（Ashok Elluswamy）随后在推特上回应称，该司机“通过将油门踩到底（100%）手动覆盖了自动驾驶系统”。
Avila’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Tesla and Butler, while both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have opened investigations into the crash. 阿维拉的家人已对特斯拉和巴特勒提起非正常死亡诉讼，同时美国国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）和国家运输安全委员会（NTSB）也已对这起车祸展开调查。
The affidavit says Butler told paramedics that “the car was on ‘autopilot,’” adding that “he remembers changing the music… (and) looked at the navigation screen” before the fatal collision while making deliveries for DoorDash. He also told hospital providers that he “remembers putting the car in self driving mode” and that he “passed out,” according to the affidavit. An evaluation from the hospital didn’t find alcohol or drugs in Butler’s system, the affidavit says. 宣誓书称，巴特勒告诉医护人员“当时汽车处于‘自动驾驶’状态”，并补充说在为 DoorDash 送货发生致命碰撞前，“他记得当时正在换音乐……（并且）看了导航屏幕”。据宣誓书显示，他还告诉医院工作人员，他“记得将车调到了自动驾驶模式”，并且自己“昏过去了”。宣誓书称，医院的评估结果显示巴特勒体内并未发现酒精或药物成分。
After reviewing video from Butler’s Model 3, along with data from the vehicle’s “black box,” officials said they found that the “accelerator pedal was pressed, overriding FSD’s speed control:” 在审查了巴特勒 Model 3 的视频以及车辆“黑匣子”的数据后，官员们表示他们发现“加速踏板被踩下，覆盖了 FSD 的速度控制”：
On the video, I saw BUTLER’s Tesla continue to increase in speed, and saw the amount of pressure being applied to the accelerator pedal also increase in speed. In about six (6) seconds, the accelerator pedal was pressed all the way down to 100%, “pedal to the metal,” and the vehicle reached a speed of 73 miles per hour, more than double the speed limit on that residential street. The Tesla continued straight towards the middle of the cul-de-sac, struck the curb of the complainant’s driveway, and went airborne towards the front of the home… I noted that the brake pedal was never pressed in the final minute before the crash. “在视频中，我看到巴特勒的特斯拉持续加速，同时也看到踩下加速踏板的力度在增加。在大约六（6）秒内，加速踏板被踩到底（100%），即‘油门踩到底’，车辆时速达到了 73 英里，是该住宅街道限速的两倍多。特斯拉径直冲向死胡同中央，撞上了受害者车道的路缘石，并腾空飞向房屋正面……我注意到在撞车前的最后一分钟里，刹车踏板从未被踩下。”