The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a probe into Ford after a fatal accident that may have involved the company’s automated driving feature.
Regulators are investigating the circumstances of a fatal crash in the San Antonio, Texas, area last month involving a 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Mustang reportedly slammed into the rear of a stationary Honda CR-V on Interstate Highway 10. The Honda was reportedly stopped without emergency lights on, and the Mustang had partial automation enabled.
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The driver of the Honda was critically injured and transported to a nearby hospital, where he later died.
Ford released a statement about the incident, acknowledging it had immediately informed the NHTSA of the accident’s circumstances, according to the WSJ.
“The complete facts of this event are not yet clear,” the automaker said, according to The Wall Street Journal. “Ford reported this incident to NHTSA as soon as we were made aware, and we are actively researching all available information.”
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“Safety is a top priority for all of us at Ford, and we will collaborate fully with any resulting investigation,” the carmaker added.
The NHTSA’s Special Crash Investigations division promises a preliminary report on the incident within 30 days, according to the WSJ. A longer, complete report could take one to two years.
“SCI cases are intended to be a data set useful for examining special crash circumstances or outcomes from an engineering perspective,” the division says on its website.
“The benefit of the program is its ability to locate unique real-world crashes anywhere in the country and perform in-depth clinical investigations in a timely manner that can be used by the automotive safety community to improve the performance of its advanced safety systems.”
