A Paris taxi driver whose Tesla Model 3 crashed in December, killing one person, has filed a legal complaint against the U.S. carmaker.
The French government said in the days after the accident that Tesla had told it that there was no immediate indication of a technical fault.
Sarah Saldmann, lawyer to the taxi driver, said her client had on Friday filed a criminal complaint with public prosecutors in Versailles alleging that Tesla had “put the lives of others in danger”.
The off-duty taxi driver’s Tesla ploughed through metal posts, a row of pay-to-ride bicycles and a recycling bin full of glass, hitting pedestrians and a van before finally coming to a halt, witnesses said of the accident.
The taxi driver, who has not been named, told police after the accident that the car had accelerated on its own and that he was unable to activate the brakes.
In addition to the fatality, three people were seriously hurt and another 17 injured in the accident in the 13th arrondissement of the French capital on a street lined with bars, restaurants and shops.
The taxi driver is under formal investigation for manslaughter but has not been charged. He tested negative in an alcohol test after the accident.
The public prosecutor’s office in Versailles will now decide whether Tesla has a case to answer.
