(KATY, Texas) — The driver in a deadly Tesla crash in Texas pressed the accelerator to 100% before colliding into a house, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
On June 19, the driver, Michael Butler, was behind the wheel of a 2025 Tesla Model 3 electric car when it went off the road and crashed into a home in Katy, killing 76-year-old resident Marta Avila, officials said.
Butler, who said the car was in self-driving mode, was arrested for manslaughter on July 1. He’s not entered a plea and is set to be arraigned next month.
The NTSB said on Wednesday that, at the time of the collision, “the driver had engaged Tesla’s Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), Full Self Driving (FSD) (Supervised).”
But data shows that before the crash, Butler “manually overrode FSD (Supervised) by pressing the accelerator pedal to 100%,” the NTSB noted.
The Tesla was driving over 70 mph when it struck the house, the NTSB said, noting that the speed limit on Avila’s residential road is 30 mph.
“All aspects of the crash remain under investigation while the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar crashes,” the NTSB said in a statement.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also investigating, the NTSB said.
Butler’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
