A Telsla driver who hit an elderly carer at a tram stop amid claims her electric car was running on autopilot has now blamed the tram driver.
Sakshi Agrawal, 24, was reported to have encountered a caretaker attempting to board a tram on Wattletree Road, Armadale, Melbourne’s south-east at 6.30am last March.
The victim, Nicole Lagos, then 26 years old, suffered horrific injuries in the crash that left her in critical condition at Alfred Hospital.
Agrawal turned herself in to the police after she allegedly fled the accident.
She was arrested and then taken back to the crime scene in handcuffs.
Sakshi Agrawal (pictured second right) was brought back to the crime scene in handcuffs after being arrested in March last year
Agrawal appeared in Melbourne Magistrate Court on Monday on charges of dangerous driving resulting in serious injury, failure to stop at the scene of an accident and failure to provide assistance, and negligently causing serious injury.
At a hearing in May, the court heard that Agrawal put her $68,000 model 3 Tesla on “autopilot” when she allegedly struck the pedestrian.
It remains unclear whether Agrawal will maintain that defense as the media has been denied access to all documents except the indictment forms by magistrate Natalie Heynes.
Agrawal is in a pre-trial committal hearing in which multiple witnesses are expected to be called.
On Monday, Agrawal’s lawyer, Joanne Poole, grilled the 35-year-old veteran tram driver, accusing him of not following the Yarra Trams rule book when it came to how he stopped the tram on the morning of the incident.
The driver told the court that he had followed proper procedures.
But when questioned, the driver said he may not have checked his mirrors before opening the tram doors.
“You didn’t look in the mirrors because if you did…you would have seen a vehicle pass by and you wouldn’t have opened the doors,” suggested Mrs Poole.
“I don’t accept that… I don’t think I made a mistake,” the driver replied.
The driver claimed he turned on the tram’s hazard lights before coming to a complete stop to pick up Ms Lagos, who had tuned into Monday’s hearing via video link.
Police are pictured at the scene of an alleged hit and run in Melbourne in March
The tram driver told the court he had no additional training since becoming a driver 35 years ago and had no idea from a rulebook published by Yarra Trams in 2017.
“One of those rules is that before opening the doors, drivers must check all mirrors to make sure the immediate area is clear of moving vehicles,” Ms Poole told him.
“You accept that this is how it’s supposed to be, but it didn’t happen on this occasion.”
Although the driver said he couldn’t remember the tiniest details of what had happened that morning, he was sure he would have checked for traffic before opening the tram doors.
“I would have done that then,” he insisted.
‘It was dark. It was 6:30 in the morning and the lights were on. And it was pretty dark at the stop… I must have looked in the mirror and God knows who did wrong there, but I did what I did as a tram driver.’
Ms Poole further suggested that the tram driver had opened the tram doors after Ms Lagos had already been hit.
“The passenger walked to the tram after I opened the doors,” the driver replied.
“I was stopped … and when I opened the doors, the passenger started walking.”
The tram driver claimed that Agrawal was driving so fast that he did not even realize that Mrs. Lagos had been hit.
Whoosh, something went by and I wondered “what the hell”. She was just there, 10 seconds away from boarding the tram and she went missing,” he said.
Agrawal partner (pictured) told Channel Nine that she panicked and would return to the crime scene
The driver further denied allegations that he opened the doors of the tram before the tram came to a complete stop.
‘It has stopped. The tram stopped and I waited for the passenger to board,’ he insisted.
Yarra Trams chief safety manager told the court that the tram door could not be opened while the tram was moving.
At the time of the incident, Agrawal’s allegations to Victoria Police about her car’s autopilot were reportedly the first time Australian major collision officers had had to investigate a Tesla case.
Autopilot is a driver assistance system for Tesla vehicles that allows the car to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within its lane.
The system still requires drivers to be aware of their surroundings and have their hands on the wheel.
Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Jarrod Dwyer, of the major collision investigation unit, said it was still relatively dark when the car reportedly hit Ms. Lagos, dragging her between 15 and 20 metres.
He said Agrawal panicked after the collision and left the scene, but returned shortly afterwards accompanied by a friend.
She expressed regret when she returned to the crime scene with police and was “quite hysterical,” Sergeant Dwyer said.
Agrawal’s partner, who returned to the crime scene with her, said the collision was ‘just a normal accident, it happens every day’.
‘She would come back anyway. She was a little scared,’ he said.
Agrawal was granted bail despite police objections as she could pose a flight risk.
The 24-year-old is in the country on a bridging visa and is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
The hearing continues