Fatal Tesla crash in Gardena being investigated by NHTSA

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will open an inquiry into a collision on Sunday near Los Angeles involving a 2019 Tesla Inc. Model S that collided with another vehicle, the agency said late Tuesday.

Two people died and two others were injured when a Tesla exited a freeway, ran a red light and slammed into a Honda Civic in Gardena, an NBC News affiliate in Los Angeles reported on Sunday, citing law enforcement. A NHTSA spokesman confirmed the agency was investigating the crash.

The inquiry, a crash scene and vehicle inspection, is the latest by the NHTSA’s Special Crash Investigations unit involving a Tesla vehicle. It has begun 13 probes into Tesla vehicle crashes believed to involve the use of the company’s automated driver-assist features marketed as Autopilot.

A NHTSA spokesman declined to comment on whether Autopilot was a factor in the Sunday crash.

The NHTSA earlier in December said investigators would look into a Connecticut crash in which a Tesla rear-ended a parked police cruiser while the vehicle was operating on Autopilot.

Tesla representatives did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.