The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Wednesday it would launch an investigation into an accident in which a Tesla Model 3 crashed into a home at high speed in Katy, Texas, last week, killing a 76-year-old resident. The NTSB has launched an investigation into multiple accidents that occurred while using Tesla's driver assistance systems. On Monday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it was investigating the crash.

It was also reported that the family of the woman who died has filed a lawsuit over the fatal accident. According to the complaint filed on Tuesday, Tesla is liable for the death of Martha Avila, citing gross negligence and failure to warn of defects in its Autopilot and FSD systems.

Avila's daughter, Jennifer Barber, and her husband, Justin Barber, said that on June 19, the driver of the vehicle involved, Michael Butler, told law enforcement that he turned on the Autopilot function and then the vehicle crashed into Avila's home in Katy, Texas.

Avila later died at a nearby hospital. Justin Barber said he was also injured.

The lawsuit, filed in state court in Harris County, Texas, seeks more than $1 million in compensation and punitive damages on the grounds that Tesla "recklessly created a substantial risk of serious personal injury."

The driver said he was using driver assistance systems at the time of the incident, the Harris County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted on X on Monday night local time: "FSD will drive slowly on residential streets, and this is a high-speed collision!"

Ashok Eluswami, Tesla's vice president of artificial intelligence software, later posted on X: "The driver pressed the accelerator pedal to the bottom in a residential area and manually took over the autopilot system."

Since 2016, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched special investigations into nearly 50 crashes suspected of involving Tesla's advanced driver assistance systems, including about 20 fatal crashes.

In March, NHTSA stepped up its investigation into 3.2 million Tesla vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving systems over concerns that the system may not be able to detect drivers or issue warnings in poor visibility.

Tesla is recalling about 2 million vehicles in 2023, covering nearly all of its electric vehicles on U.S. roads, to better ensure drivers stay focused when using Autopilot.

Tesla said Autopilot enables the vehicle to automatically steer, accelerate and brake within a lane, while FSD enables the vehicle to obey traffic lights and automatically change lanes.

The automaker also said both technologies require the driver's "undivided attention" and their hands on the steering wheel at all times.

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