PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A woman was intoxicated and using a partially automated driving system when she caused a crash on the Philadelphia Expressway in March that killed two people, authorities said as they announced homicide charges against the driver.
Federal and state investigators said the woman’s Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV struck the stationary vehicle of a man who had stopped on the left shoulder of I-95 to help a man whose car had broken down in front of him. The collision, which happened around 3 a.m. in March, killed both men.
The accident was at least the second this year involving a Mach-E hitting a stationary vehicle after dark The NTSB investigated. In a February crash on Interstate 10 in San Antonio, Texas, investigators believe a Mach-E struck a Honda CR-V that was stopped in the middle lane with no headlights on. The driver of the CR-V was killed.
In a statement released Tuesday, Pennsylvania State Police said drivers using advanced technology must be prepared to take back control at any time.
“No partially automated vehicle technology should ever be left alone to perform the driving tasks necessary to safely operate on Commonwealth roadways,” the agency said.
Ford’s Blue Cruise system lets the driver take their hands off the wheel while it handles steering, braking and acceleration on highways. The automaker says the system is not fully autonomous and monitors the driver to make sure they’re paying attention to the road.
Philadelphia investigators believe the Mustang driver, Dimple Patel, was traveling about 71 mph, using both Blue Cruise and adaptive cruise control, when the crash occurred. A fourth vehicle was also struck.
Patel, of Philadelphia, faces multiple charges, including vehicular manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. She turned herself in to police Tuesday on the charges filed last week, state police said. Her attorney did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.
Ford said it was working with state police and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to review the crash, which killed Aktilek Baktybekov, who had broken down, and Tolobek Esenbekov, who had apparently pulled over on the left shoulder to help.
Federal investigators have studied other previous crashes involving partially automated driving systems, most involving Tesla’s Autopilot.
