Tesla crash – A 76-year-old Texas woman, Martha Avila, died after a Tesla allegedly driven using automated driving assistance left the road, struck her as she was inside a Katy home, and shattered the house late June 19. Her family is raising money for temporary housing and
The moment the Tesla left the road in Katy, Texas, the family says everything changed—fast.
Martha Avila, 76, died on June 19 after a Tesla crash that allegedly occurred while the driver used the vehicle’s automated driving assistance system, according to a Harris County Sheriff’s Office news release. Avila was life flighted to a local hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries.
The sheriff’s office said the crash happened at around 8 p.m. CT on June 19. The man driving the Tesla was using the vehicle’s automated driving assistance system when the car left the road. crashed through a home. and struck Avila. who was inside. the release states. Investigators determined the man was not intoxicated during the crash.
Surveillance footage recorded by a camera on the affected home—shared by Avila’s daughter. Jennifer Barbour. on Facebook—shows the vehicle flying off the road before hitting the house. Barbour told Houston television station KHOU 11 that she was in the backyard when the crash occurred. She said she found her husband and children before discovering her mother had been struck.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said the case is currently under investigation. The sheriff’s office did not provide additional details in the release, and the department was reached for more information on June 22.
In the aftermath, the home where the crash happened has been boarded up. The family told KHOU 11 that it was occupied by two parents, three young children, and Avila at the time of the crash.
On June 20, a GoFundMe fundraiser was created for Avila’s family to help cover temporary housing costs for those displaced by the crash and to pay for funeral expenses. By June 22, the fundraiser had raised more than $23,000 toward a $28,000 goal.
The sequence of facts—automated driving assistance was reportedly in use. the vehicle left the road and struck Avila inside the home. and investigators said intoxication was not a factor—places the family’s questions squarely on what happened in those final moments and what comes next as authorities continue investigating.
Tesla autopilot automated driving assistance Katy Texas Martha Avila Harris County Sheriff's Office GoFundMe KHOU 11 crash investigation temporary housing