Foster City Family Sues Tesla After Deadly, Fiery Crash

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — The family of a 38-year-old Foster City man who was killed in a fiery Tesla crash in Mountain View last March is suing the car company, alleging its autopilot technology malfunctioned and led to his death.

Wei "Walter" Huang had dropped off his children at school and was driving to work in a 2017 Tesla Model X on March 23 when his autopilot steered him into a concrete highway median on U.S. Highway 101, the lawsuit alleges. He died as a result of his injuries.

Attorneys for Sevonne Huang, Walter's wife, announced the lawsuit Wednesday after filing it in Santa Clara County court on Friday. The lawsuit also names Caltrans as a defendant, saying it failed to repair a damaged median that could have lessened the impact of the crash.

According to the lawsuit, Tesla's autopilot feature misread lane lines on the highway, failed to detect the concrete median and accelerated into the barrier instead of automatically breaking.

"If the autopilot had not been on, Walter would be alive today," said Attorney Mark Fong of Minami Tamaki LLP. "Their autopilot system killed Mr. Huang."

The lawsuit further alleges that the company was conducting beta-testing of its autopilot feature on live subjects before the feature was ready for distribution, and that the vehicle did not have an emergency automatic braking system. A Tesla spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The complaint doesn't specify the damages sought, but Fong said the objective of the lawsuit is to ensure no other individuals are harmed due to Tesla technology. Walter Huang was a big fan of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and considered him to be one of his heroes, Fong said, explaining the lawsuit is not directed at the company with any ill will.

"Walter was a real geek, a software engineer himself," Fong said. "He saved up his money and bought what he thought was state of the art. He had a right to rely on the brilliant engineers who Tesla employs."

His family is still coping with their loss, and Fong said Sevonne has a lot of inner strength and determination, but it's difficult for her to speak about the loss of her husband. The lawsuit will be an opportunity for attorneys to gather proprietary encrypted vehicle data from Tesla and determine how the crash occurred. The company has touted its safety record compared to other motor vehicles in the past, and attorneys are requesting statistics as part of their discovery process.

The National Transportation Safety Board is currently conducting an independent investigation into the crash.

—By Bay City News Service