A Tesla driver to pay $23K in restitution for a 2019 Los Angeles crash that killed 2 people
LOS ANGELES — A Tesla driver will pay more than $23,000 in damages for the deaths of two people in a 2019 car crash in suburban Los Angeles, a decision announced the same day the automaker is recalling nearly all vehicles sold in the U.S. .
Wednesday's court hearing concluded a case believed to be the first time U.S. prosecutors have filed felony charges against a motorist who used a partially automated driving system. It was one of a series of fatal crashes investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that led to this week's recall.
The recall affects more than 2 million Tesla vehicles and will update software and fix a faulty system that ensures drivers pay attention when using Autopilot. It came after a two-year federal investigation into crashes that occurred while the Autopilot partially automated driving system was in use.
The Tesla driver in the Los Angeles case, Kevin Aziz Riad, pleaded no contest to two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. Despite spending more than seven years behind bars, a judge sentenced him to probation in June.
Aziz Riad's attorney, Peter Johnson, did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
Authorities say Aziz Riad, a limousine service driver, was at the wheel of a Tesla Model S traveling at 70 mph (119 km/h) when it left the highway and ran a red light on a local street in Gardena, California. 29, 2019.
The Tesla, which was using Autopilot at the time, struck a Honda Civic at an intersection, and the car's occupants, Gilberto Alcazar Lopez and Maria Guadalupe Nieves-Lopez, died at the scene. Their families have separately filed civil lawsuits against Aziz Riad and Tesla, which are still ongoing.
Donald Slavik, who represents Alcazar Lopez's family, said that while they appreciate any form of restitution, it is “a very small amount of the damage” they suffered. Their lawsuit will go to trial next year.
“If the recently announced recall limited the use of Autopilot to controlled-access highways, this tragic incident would likely have been prevented,” Slavik said in an email Friday.
An attorney for the Nieves-Lopez family also did not respond to a request for comment.