Family sues Tesla over fatal high-speed crash into mother's front room

The family of a woman killed when a Tesla crashed into her home, allegedly while in self-driving mode, is suing Elon Musk's company and the driver.

Jennifer Barbour, the daughter of the 76-year-old victim, Martha Avila, filed the lawsuit alongside her husband.

It alleges a "design defect" in Teslas and negligence against both Tesla and the driver, Michael Butler.

According to the lawsuit, the victim was standing in the front room of her brick home at around 8pm on Friday when the car smashed into it, causing her to be "pinned in the wreckage".

She was airlifted to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

The driver said he was using the car's self-driving system when it crashed, according to the sheriff's office, which said he was cooperative and didn't show any signs of intoxication.

Although Tesla did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Sky's partner newsroom, NBC, Elon Musk did respond to a news story about the crash on Monday night.

Referring to the vehicle's full self-driving mode, he wrote on X: "FSD drives slowly through neighborhood streets, and this was a high-speed crash!"

Ashok Elluswamy, vice president of AI software at Tesla, defended the vehicle's systems.

"In this case, the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100% of the accel pedal in this residential area," he wrote on X on Monday.

"They reached a speed of 73 mph during the crash, and had the accelerator pressed even after the crash."

NBC has seen a copy of the lawsuit, which alleges that the Tesla was in "Autopilot" mode and that the system has "a history of known danger".

It cites a 2023 Washington Post analysis of government data that "identified at least 17 fatal incidents linked to Tesla's Autopilot".

"The actions and inactions of Defendant Butler were done with reckless disregard for a substantial risk of severe bodily injury," the lawsuit alleges.

Although no criminal charges have been filed, the crash is under investigation, according to the sheriff's office, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also launching a special investigation.

The Barbour family thanked first responders in a statement released by their lawyers.

"Your quick response, professionalism, and kindness have been a significant reason that we have been able to deal with this unimaginable situation," they said.

"Thank you for all that you do to help families like ours during the hardest moments of our lives."

The lawsuit seeks more than $1m (£760,100) in damages.

(c) Sky News 2026: Family sues Tesla over fatal high-speed crash into mother's front room