Tesla on Autopilot Tragically Kills 76-Year-Old Grandmother: ‘She Was Pinned Against the Wall’

A routine evening turned tragic in Katy, Texas, when a Tesla, reportedly on autopilot, rammed into a home on Friday, June 19, killing 76-year-old grandmother Martha Avila.

The vehicle plowed into the front room of the home, striking Avila, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

Avila was rushed to a local hospital, where she later died of her injuries.

“We heard a boom,” Jennifer Barbour, the victim’s daughter, told KHOU-TV. “Like, it sounded just like an explosion.”

The grieving daughter spoke to CBS and added that her mother “still had her whole life ahead of her.”

Barbour said it took a few moments to register that a car had crashed into her house. After checking on her husband and three children and finding them safe, she found her mother in a tragic state.

“She was pinned against the wall because he pushed her fridge, like, against her, and the whole place that we have in the living room,” Barbour told KHOU-TV.

Photos released by investigators and published by News2SA show a gaping hole torn into the front of the Houston-area home, with the Tesla still wedged inside and debris scattered across the lawn.

Security camera footage from a neighbor, obtained by CNN, also recorded the vehicle speeding down the street moments before it veers out of frame. A loud crash follows seconds later.

The driver told responding deputies the Tesla was in autopilot mode at the time of the crash, according to Harris County Constable Precinct 5. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

KTRK reported that authorities observed no signs of intoxication and said the driver has been cooperative since the crash.

The case remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office Vehicular Crimes Division, while the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched its own probe, as reported by ABCNews4 on Tuesday, June 23.

Tesla’s leadership wasted no time clearing its stance. “This makes no sense,” CEO Elon Musk wrote on X. “FSD drives slowly through neighborhood streets, and this was a high-speed crash!”