Family of Texas Crash Victim Martha Avila Sues Tesla and Driver for Accountability

In a tragic incident that unfolded in west Harris County, Texas, a lawsuit was filed on Tuesday against Tesla. This action blames the car manufacturer for its role in an accident where one of their vehicles crashed into a home, resulting in the death of a 76-year-old woman.

The legal complaint was initiated by the daughter and son-in-law of the deceased, Martha Avila. They have named Tesla and the driver of the car as defendants in this grave case.

Harris County Sheriff’s Office has identified the driver as a 44-year-old man. As of late Tuesday, efforts to contact him proved unsuccessful as he did not respond to text messages and there was no answer at his Fort Bend County residence.

The driver reportedly informed investigators that the car was operating in autopilot mode at the time of the crash on Friday, a detail that could play a pivotal role in the proceedings.

As the investigation continues, the sheriff’s office stated on Tuesday that there has been no evidence discovered so far indicating any “mechanical malfunction” in the vehicle involved.

But in the lawsuit, attorneys write that “the Vehicle … was defective in design and unreasonably dangerous,” claiming the car may have accelerated by itself.

“We’re still in a fact-finding mode, but mainly we’re alleging a product defect and a failure to warn on Tesla’s part,” attorney Chris Adkins said.

Tesla has so far ignored all requests for comment from Houston ABC affiliate KTRK.

But Monday, the company’s vice president of AI, wrote on X that “the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100% of the accel pedal …and had the accelerator pressed even after the crash.”

“Tesla’s statement, in my opinion, is a little bit fishy given that they indicated the accelerator was pushed at 100 percent all the way through the collision until the vehicle stopped and beyond,” Adkins said. “If that were the case, he would have had his foot on the accelerator all the way through the crash until the vehicle came to a stop. If that’s the case, he should have a shattered leg.”

The lawsuit demands Tesla preserve its black box data, autopilot system data and camera footage.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also investigating the crash.