NHTSA, NTSB investigate fatal Tesla crash

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model S and a tractor-trailer on Friday, March 1, in Delray Beach, Fla.

According to reports, the truck was making a left turn on to the northbound lanes when the southbound Tesla hit the trailer on the driver’s side. The roof of the Tesla was torn off as it passed underneath the trailer. The driver of the Tesla, 50-year-old Jeremy Beren Banner, died in the crash. It is unclear whether the Tesla’s autopilot system was in use during the crash.

A 2016 Tesla Model S also was involved in a Feb. 24 fatal crash in Davie, Fla. Omar Awan, 48, died after his vehicle struck a tree and caught fire.

“NHTSA is sending a field team to investigate the Tesla Model 3 crash that occurred Friday in Delray Beach, Fla.,” the agency wrote in an email response to Land Line. “The agency also has an on-going investigation on the Tesla Model S crash on Feb. 24 in Davie, Fla., and will take additional actions if appropriate.”

The NTSB confirmed through its Twitter account that it was sending a team of three to conduct an investigation into the Delray Beach crash.

Previously, the NTSB said design limitations of the Tesla’s autopilot system played a role in a fatal crash that claimed the life of 40-year-old Joshua Brown near Gainesville, Fla., in 2016.