The driver of a Mustang Mach-E that crashed into a stationary car in Texas in February was using Ford’s hands-free driver assistance system, BlueCruise, according to data received by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
It is the first known fatality due to an accident using BlueCruise, which Ford first announced in 2021. The system allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel on pre-determined highways and uses eye-tracking to determine whether drivers are paying attention on the road.
The NTSB’s announcement that BlueCruise was active during the Texas crash comes just one day after the safety board said it was investigating second fatal accident near Philadelphia where Ford’s driver assistance system may have been active. Ford told TechCrunch at the time that it reported the Texas accident to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and was “actively investigating all available information.” The company declined to comment further Thursday.
That second accident also involved the Ford crashing into two stationary cars, raising questions about whether the automaker’s driver-assistance system has a similar problem to what Tesla has faced for years with Autopilot. NHTSA has spent nearly three years investigating more than a dozen accidents where Tesla drivers using Autopilot have crashed into stationary emergency vehicles.
The February crash happened just outside of San Antonio. A 1999 Honda CR-V was stationary in the center lane of Interstate 10 with no lights on around 9:50 p.m. CT, when the Mustang Mach-E rear-ended him. The Honda overturned and ended up in the left lane. The safety board said Thursday that the driver of the Mustang was “operating the vehicle in BlueCruise mode prior to the crash.” The 56-year-old driver of the Honda died after being taken to San Antonio Military Medical Center, according to the police report, while the driver of the Mustang suffered “minor injuries.” Police found no signs of intoxication in the driver of the Mustang. The NTSB said another driver lost sight of the Honda moments before the Mustang hit it.
The NTSB released what is known as a preliminary report Thursday and is still investigating the crash. A spokesman said a final report was likely to be published within 12 to 24 months. The NHTSA is also investigating the Texas crashaccording to the Wall Street Journal.
This story has been updated to note that Ford declined to comment on the new information from the NTSB.
