Video shows Tesla hit CHP car on I-80 in Fairfield; driver says he slept with Full Self-Driving on

By Cecilio Padilla

New video released by the California Highway Patrol shows the moment a Tesla slammed into a patrol car on Interstate 80 near Fairfield while officers investigated a deadly crash earlier this week.

The crash happened late Tuesday night on eastbound I-80 west of Air Base Parkway.

CHP said four lanes had been closed with flares and cones when the Tesla drove into the closure at freeway speed and hit a Dodge Charger patrol car with two officers inside.

Investigators said the 22-year-old driver from Sacramento told them he had been asleep and that the Tesla was operating in Full Self-Driving mode at the time.

CHP noted that despite its name, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system is a driver-assistance feature that requires the driver to remain alert and in control.

“Technology does not relieve drivers of their responsibility to safely operate their vehicles,” CHP said in a statement about the crash.

In the video released by CHP on Thursday, the moment of impact was captured by dashcams of both the patrol vehicle that was struck as well as another vehicle at the scene.

Both officers suffered serious injuries but are recovering. The Tesla driver had minor injuries, CHP noted.

The officers had been investigating a separate crash about an hour earlier that killed a 19-year-old San Pablo man. CHP said the teen lost control of a Honda Civic before it was hit by a Chevrolet Tahoe.

Both crashes remain under investigation.