A driver from Utah who slammed his Tesla into a fire truck sues the automaker about autopilot function

The woman who crushed her Tesla in a fire truck while the car was in autopilot mode sued the builder, alleging that the feature was flawed and that his marketing was misleading, said his lawyer.

"They [Tesla] Jeffery Metler, the driver's lawyer, told ABC News that it was necessary to leave the autopilot to drive with assistance. "Because right now, Tesla is not ready for the autopilot. So they try to blame the pilots, which they did for every crash. "

Tesla has already stated that Autopilot is an advanced driver assistance system and not an autonomous system. But the Autopilot section of the website states: "All Tesla vehicles manufactured in our factory, including Model 3, have the necessary equipment for full autonomy at a much higher level of safety than a human driver.

Tesla issued a statement in response to the complaint saying, "When using the autopilot, drivers are constantly reminded of their responsibility to keep their hands on the wheel and keep control of the vehicle at all times. t make the car impervious to all accidents. "

Tesla also issued a statement to ABC News, stating that "the feedback we receive from our customers shows that they understand very well what is the autopilot, how to use it properly and what are its features."

South Jordan Police Service via AP, file

The accident involving Metler's customer, Heather Lommatzsch, is one of many recent accidents with Tesla's autopilot function. In March, Walter Huang, a 38-year-old Apple engineer, died after his X-Model crash. In an unusual move, the company released details of a blog post defending Autopilot's safety record, calling on National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB), which stated: "The NTSB is dissatisfied with Tesla's release of investigation information.

In June, a Tesla sedan in autopilot mode crashed in Laguna Beach, California, resulting in minor injuries. The NTSB has launched at least three investigations into accidents related to Tesla's autopilot function.

"They say it's an autopilot car," Metler added. "They publish a message that is not consistent.This leaves the public to rely on the safety of cars, but I do not think technology on it."

Lommatzsch, 29, says she hit her Tesla S on May 11 when she was in autopilot mode in the fire truck arrested in southern Jordan, a suburb of Salt Lake City.

She also says that she was on the phone at the time of the accident.

South Jordan Police Service via AP, file

Drivers who use their phone during an accident are usually at fault, said Metler. But because of Tesla's autopilot, "we are looking at it and think it was reasonable to trust the security features as they were announced, these security features have been lacking," he added.

She was wounded in the right foot after several break attempts before the accident, said Metler.

"She tried to break several times, resting on the break," he said, adding that Lommatzsch had undergone two surgeries and a bone graft to his foot.

She is a real estate agent who has been unable to work, drive or put on weight since the accident, Metler said. "She is at home," he added.

She is suing for at least $ 300,000 in damages.

Lommatzsch bought the car from a Tesla dealer in Utah in 2016 and was the sole owner of the car, Metler said.

Michael Probst / AP, FILE

Before the May crash, she had never had problems with the autopilot, but the car had been repaired by King Service Collision Repair before the accident, the lawyer said, adding that He did not know what work had been done.

Service King Collision and Tesla Motors UT Inc. are the two other defendants cited in the lawsuit. Neither of them immediately responded to ABC News's request for comment.

Tesla "knew or should have known that the product was unreasonably dangerous to users," according to the Lommatzsch trial, filed Tuesday in the Third District Court of Utah, in Salt Lake County.

"After conversations with Tesla salesmen," Lommatzsch said, "the safety features of the Model S would ensure that the vehicle would stop on its own if an obstacle was in the path of the Tesla Model S ".

The Tesla seller told her "that she could drive in autopilot mode and simply touch the steering wheel once in a while," the suit says.

The report from the South Jordan Police Department quotes Tesla's information on the car: "Drivers are repeatedly advised that autopilot functions do not make Tesla vehicles stand alone and that the driver must remain vigilant. must be prepared to take all necessary measures to avoid dangers on the road. "

The police report also quotes Tesla's statement that the car "has recorded more than a dozen times his hands on the steering wheel during this driving cycle." On two occasions, she left the wheel more than two years ago. A minute each time and her hands came back only after a visual alert was provided.Every time she put her hands back on the steering wheel, she removed them from the steering wheel after a few seconds , "noting that Lommatzsch had his hands behind the wheel.