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Critical reported severity

Katy, Texas: Tesla Model 3 with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) engaged crashes into a home and kills a 76-year-old woman, and NTSB preliminary data indicate the driver overrode the system with the accelerator

At about 8:03 p.m. on 19 June 2026 a 2025 Tesla Model 3 left a residential street in Katy, Texas, and crashed into a house at more than 70 mph. A 76-year-old woman inside the house died and the driver sustained minor injuries. The driver told deputies and first responders that the car was on Autopilot or in self-driving mode. The NTSB preliminary information (15 July 2026) states that the driver had engaged Full Self-Driving (Supervised) and that data recovered from the vehicle indicated the driver manually overrode it by pressing the accelerator pedal to 100% before the crash. A Tesla vice president said the same in a post on X on 22 June. The Harris County Sheriff's Office arrested the driver and charged the driver with manslaughter (reported 2 July), and the affidavit alleges the driver accelerated to an excessive speed, did not brake, and that investigators found no mechanical malfunction. The victim's family sued Tesla and the driver, alleging that Autopilot and Full Self-Driving were defective and that the car either failed to detect the end of the street or experienced sudden unintended acceleration, and the lawsuit alleges that another person in the home was injured. The NTSB has not determined a probable cause and NHTSA opened a special crash investigation. Whether the driver-assistance system contributed to the crash is disputed.

AI system
Tesla Full Self-Driving
Tesla
Occurred
19 Jun 2026
Reported
21 June 2026
Event location
United States
What the AI did
Acted on the person’s behalf
Reported harm
DeathPhysical Injury
Whose AI use
Their own AI use · Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Everyday life
Evidence
AI involvement disputed · Causal attribution disputed · 11 sources, 6 underlying accounts
9 claims: 2 corroborated, 1 disputed, 6 reported. 8 open questions
People reported harmed
At least 2 people

AI system as recorded: Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised), a Level 2 driver-assistance system, in a 2025 Tesla Model 3 (the driver described it as Autopilot)

Reported harm

A 76-year-old woman inside the home died in the crash (the NTSB says an occupant of the residence was fatally injured, and the Harris County Sheriff's Office says the woman was pronounced dead), and the driver was injured (minor injuries per the NTSB). The family lawsuit alleges that another person in the home suffered neck, back and shoulder injuries. The role of the driver-assistance system in the crash is disputed.

What remains unknown

  • The NTSB information is preliminary and states no probable cause. NHTSA's special crash investigation and the NTSB determination were not reported as complete in any source read, and no source after 15 July 2026 was found.
  • The vehicle's electronic data was cited by the NTSB and the sheriff's affidavit, the Sheriff's Office says Tesla provided vehicle data, and no raw log was inspected. No inspected source explains why the pedal input occurred, and the affidavit says the car slowed almost to a stop before it.
  • The driver reportedly said "passed out" and the affidavit reports no evidence of seizure, stroke, heart attack, alcohol or drugs. Whether the driver lost consciousness is not established.
  • The New York Times report of 21 June 2026 named in the archive entry returned an access block, including through a Wayback capture, and was not read.
  • Report discrepancies: ABC13 gave an 8:30 p.m. time from the Constable's Office (the NTSB gives about 8:03 p.m.), one ABC13 article gave the victim's age as 71 (other sources give 76), and reports differ on whether the lawsuit was filed on Monday 22 or Tuesday 23 June.
  • Reports differ on the turn the car was to make: the NTSB says the road ends at an intersection that required through-traffic to turn right, while ABC13 (court documents) says the car was supposed to turn left and the steering wheel turned right, and KPRC (affidavit) says the turn signal activated automatically for a left turn.
  • The lawsuit and the affidavit were read only through news reports. The claim that a second person in the home was injured comes from the lawsuit alone.
  • The criminal case and the civil lawsuit were pending in the latest sources read (July 2026).

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: disputed. The NTSB preliminary information states the driver had engaged Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised), a Level 2 driver-assistance system, and that recovered vehicle data indicated the driver overrode it with full accelerator input before the crash. The driver told deputies and first responders that the car was on Autopilot. Whether the system contributed to the crash is disputed: the family's lawsuit alleges defects and sudden unintended acceleration, while Tesla and the sheriff's affidavit attribute the acceleration to the driver, and the NTSB has not determined a probable cause. No vehicle logs were inspected. The relation records the system operating the vehicle for the driver before the reported override, and the affected people other than the driver had no interaction with it.

9 claims: 2 corroborated, 1 disputed, 6 reported. What the statuses mean

Corroborated On 19 June 2026 at about 8 p.m. a Tesla Model 3 left the roadway in Katy, Texas, and crashed into a house, and a 76-year-old woman inside the house was fatally injured.

Causal attribution. The NTSB preliminary information and the Harris County Sheriff's Office statement (relayed by ABC News and NBC News) each state the crash and the death. The Sheriff's Office is a party to the NTSB investigation and supplied its crash photograph, so the two are not independent on the crash facts. The family's lawsuit, as reported by KPRC, is a separate chain for the death. Together they establish that the woman died in the crash. They do not establish what caused the vehicle to leave the road.

Corroborated The driver told deputies, and told first responders, that the car was on Autopilot or in a self-driving or automated driving-assistance mode.

Causal attribution. A Precinct 5 Constable's Office statement, a Sheriff's Office statement and a court affidavit (citing EMS records) each record the driver's statement. The corroboration establishes that the driver said this. The driver's statement is a claim, and the NTSB information and the affidavit contradict part of it (see c3 and c4).

Reported The NTSB preliminary information (15 July 2026) states that the driver had engaged Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) driver-assistance system and that data recovered from the vehicle indicated the driver manually overrode it by pressing the accelerator pedal to 100% before the crash, at more than 70 mph. A Tesla vice president and the sheriff's court affidavit describe the same override.

Causal attribution. The NTSB and the sheriff's affidavit each cite the same vehicle's recorded data, the Sheriff's Office says Tesla provided vehicle data, and Tesla's statement does not say what it rests on, so this is one underlying record read by several parties and is kept at reported status. The NTSB information is preliminary, does not state a probable cause and was not checked against the raw logs here. It states that the system was engaged and that the pedal input followed, and it does not establish that the system played no part in the crash.

  • ntsb.gov(opens in new tab) supports · English
    had engaged Tesla’s Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), Full Self Driving
  • ntsb.gov(opens in new tab) supports · English
    (FSD) (Supervised).[1] Electronic data recovered from the vehicle indicated that before
  • ntsb.gov(opens in new tab) supports · English
    pedal to 100%, and the vehicle’s speed was greater than 70 mph when the crash
  • ntsb.gov(opens in new tab) context · English
    This information is preliminary and subject to change.
  • houstonpublicmedia.org(opens in new tab) supports · English
    At the time of the crash, the driver had engaged Tesla's Advanced Driver Assistance System, Full Self-Driving (Supervised),
  • abc13.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100% of the accelerator pedal in this residential area.
  • click2houston.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    Electronic data reportedly shows accelerator input climbing to 100 percent
  • abc13.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    In just six seconds, the pedal was all the way down, the Tesla continued straight at 73 MPH, and went airborne into the house, records alleged.
Disputed Whether the driver-assistance system contributed to the crash is disputed. The family's lawsuit alleges Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems were defective and that the car either failed to detect the end of the street and the home or experienced sudden unintended acceleration. Tesla and the sheriff's affidavit attribute the acceleration to the driver's pedal input, the NTSB preliminary information states that recovered data indicated the driver overrode the system with full pedal input, and the sheriff's office reports no evidence of a mechanical malfunction.

Causal attribution. Causation is unresolved. The lawsuit states allegations only. Tesla is a party to the NTSB investigation, and its statement does not say what it rests on. The NTSB has not determined a probable cause. The affidavit says dash-camera footage shows the car slowing almost to a stop before the driver pressed the accelerator, overriding the system's default speed, and no inspected source establishes why the pedal input occurred.

  • click2houston.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    The lawsuit claims Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems were defective and alleges the vehicle either failed to detect the end of the street and the home in its path or experienced sudden unintended acceleration.
  • nbcnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    alleges a “design defect” involving Tesla and a failure to warn.
  • abc13.com(opens in new tab) contradicts · English
    the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100% of the accelerator pedal in this residential area.
  • click2houston.com(opens in new tab) contradicts · English
    no mechanical malfunction that would explain the crash.
  • nbcnews.com(opens in new tab) contradicts · English
    investigators have found no evidence of a mechanical malfunction
  • abc13.com(opens in new tab) context · English
    Documents state the Tesla was supposed to turn left, but instead, the accelerator was pressed, causing the car to speed up, and the steering wheel turned right.
  • click2houston.com(opens in new tab) context · English
    dash camera footage shows the Tesla slowing almost to a stop before
  • ntsb.gov(opens in new tab) context · English
    All aspects of the crash remain under investigation while the NTSB determines
Reported By 2 July 2026 the driver had been arrested and charged with manslaughter. The affidavit alleges the driver recklessly caused the death by accelerating to an excessive speed and failing to brake. The driver had not entered a plea at the court hearing at which bond was set (reported 2 July).

Causal attribution. A criminal charge and affidavit allegations establish only the contents of the charge and affidavit. The affidavit was read through news reports and not directly.

Reported The victim's family sued Tesla and the driver in Harris County District Court, alleging design defect and failure to warn against Tesla and negligence against both, and seeking more than $1 million.

Causal attribution. A civil complaint as reported by KPRC and NBC News. The complaint was not inspected. Reports give the filing day as Monday 22 June (KPRC) and Tuesday 23 June (NBC News says attorneys announced the suit on Tuesday, and a Houston Public Media article of 22 June, updated 24 June, that is not cited here says it was filed Tuesday).

Reported The lawsuit alleges that another person who was inside the home suffered injuries to the neck, back and shoulders.

Causal attribution. An allegation in the family lawsuit, reported by KPRC in two articles from one chain. No medical record was inspected and no other source reports this injury.

Reported The driver was also injured, with the NTSB describing the driver's injuries as minor.

Causal attribution. The NTSB record and the Sheriff's Office statement (via ABC News) each report the injury, and the Sheriff's Office is a party to the NTSB investigation. Only the NTSB describes the injuries as minor. Neither describes treatment.

Reported The NTSB is investigating and had not determined a probable cause as of its 15 July 2026 preliminary information, and NHTSA has opened a special crash investigation.

Causal attribution. Agencies' statements of their own investigations. No later outcome was found in the sources read.

Sources

11 sources inspected, from 6 underlying accounts. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Event countries: United States. Affected-person countries: United States. Court countries: United States.

The NTSB record places the crash in Katy, Harris County, Texas. The home is the victim's family home in Katy, and the criminal charge and the civil suit are in Harris County, Texas.

Reviewed for publication 2026-09-29: The NTSB preliminary information (read directly) and the Harris County Sheriff's Office statement (relayed by ABC News and NBC News) each state the death and a driver-assistance connection. The NTSB states in its own voice that the driver had engaged Full Self-Driving (Supervised) and cites data recovered from the vehicle for the override. The Sheriff's Office statement records that the driver said an automated driving assistance system was engaged, so it carries the connection as the driver's reported statement. The Constable's Office statement and the arrest affidavit (via ABC13 and KPRC) repeat that statement. The Sheriff's Office is a party to the NTSB investigation, so those two chains are not independent on the crash facts. The family's wrongful death lawsuit (KPRC and NBC News) is a further chain: it carries the death and alleges Autopilot and Full Self-Driving defects, and NBC News reports the family's attorneys saying the vehicle was in Autopilot mode. The NTSB and the affidavit each cite electronic data from the same vehicle, and the Sheriff's Office says Tesla provided vehicle data. The connection is reported and causation is disputed: the NTSB and Tesla state the driver overrode the system, and the family alleges a defect. The victim, the driver and the family members are not named here.

People reported harmed in this case

At least 2 people

1 AI participant · 1 other person harmed

One participant user (the driver, minor injuries per the NTSB) and one other person (the woman who died, per the NTSB and the Sheriff's Office). A second person in the home is alleged in the family lawsuit to have been injured and is not counted, because no other source reports it.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Katy, Texas: Tesla Model 3 with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) engaged crashes into a home and kills a 76-year-old woman, and NTSB preliminary data indicate the driver overrode the system with the accelerator. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-katy-texas-tesla-model-3-fsd-supervised-crash-into-home-kills-woman

BibTeX

@misc{2026_katy_texas_tesla_model_3_fsd_supervised_crash_into_home_kills_woman,
  title = {Katy, Texas: Tesla Model 3 with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) engaged crashes into a home and kills a 76-year-old woman, and NTSB preliminary data indicate the driver overrode the system with the accelerator},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-katy-texas-tesla-model-3-fsd-supervised-crash-into-home-kills-woman}
}

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