Tesla crashes into California Highway Patrol vehicle on I-80

A 22-year-old Sacramento man seriously injured two California Highway Patrol officers when his Tesla struck their patrol vehicle on eastbound Interstate 80 near Fairfield. The collision occurred around 11:45 p.m. on October 13, while the officers were investigating a separate fatal accident that had closed four lanes of the highway.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the Tesla entered the cordoned-off area—which was marked with flares, cones, and flashing emergency lights—at freeway speeds. The driver told investigators he had been asleep and that the vehicle was operating in Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” mode at the time of the impact.

While the officers were hospitalized with serious injuries, they have since been released. The Tesla driver sustained only minor injuries. The CHP issued a statement reminding motorists that despite its name, the Full Self-Driving system is an SAE Level 2 driver assistance feature that requires continuous human supervision and does not relieve drivers of their responsibility to operate the vehicle safely.