The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into the fatal Ford Mustang Mach-E crash in San Antonio, Texas, that took place on February 24.
It was alleged that the Ford banged the rear of a stationary Honda CR-V in a traffic lane on Interstate Highway 10, resulting in the death of 56-year-old Jeffrey Allen Johnson of Austin, who was in the Honda CR-V at the moment.
The probe seeks to address the speculations about the involvement of an advanced driver assistance system. According to a San Antonio police report, the Ford had “partial automation” engaged at the time of the crash.
On Friday, The National Safety Board (NTSB) initiated an investigation into the crash separate from the special crash investigation undertaken by NHTSA to ascertain potential safety issues and gauge emerging technologies.
The agency opens more than 100 special crash investigations annually. Since 2016, the NHTSA has opened around 36 crash investigations with 20 reported crash deaths for Tesla, where it was suspected that advanced driver assistance systems like Autopilot were at play.
However, this is NHTSA’s first special crash probe involving a Ford advanced system.
According to Ford, the system in question, BlueCruise, is an advanced hands-free driving system that functions on 97% of the US and Canadian highways with no intersections or traffic signals.
The NTSB has also opened several investigations in the recent past concerning advanced driver assistance systems, including Tesla’s Autopilot, but they said that they were investigating this crash “due to its continued interest in advanced driver assistance systems and how vehicle operators interact with these technologies.”
A spokesperson from Ford revealed that the automaker had reported this incident to NHTSA as soon as they were made aware, and they are actively researching all available information. He asserted that safety is a top priority for everyone at Ford, and they will collaborate fully with any resulting investigation.