Tesla is facing a wrongful death lawsuit after a crash involving a 2024 Model S that killed three family members in New Jersey last year.
The case was filed Monday in federal court in Camden by the estates of David Dryerman, 54; his wife, Michele, 54; and their daughter, Brooke, 17. The lawsuit claims the vehicle’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features caused the crash due to a defective design.
The accident occurred on September 14, 2024, as the family was returning from a music festival. According to the complaint, the vehicle veered off the Garden State Parkway in Woodbridge Township, hit a sign and guardrail, and crashed into a concrete bridge support.
All three passengers were wearing seat belts. Brooke’s older brother, Max Dryerman, who was not in the car, is also listed as a plaintiff.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages. It states the vehicle failed to stay in its lane and did not apply emergency braking. It also says Tesla failed to warn the driver about safety risks, referencing Elon Musk’s 2016 remark that Autopilot was “probably better” than human drivers.
Tesla has said its driver-assistance systems require full driver attention and do not make vehicles autonomous. In December 2023, Tesla recalled over 2 million cars in the U.S. to install additional safety features in its Autopilot system following pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
