A federal agency is looking into a Tesla crash that killed a man in Virginia last month.
Pablo Teodoro died when his 2023 Tesla SUV slammed into a tractor-trailer that pulled out in front of him on Route 29 in Fauquier County. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) will look at whether the Tesla’s autopilot feature was turned on at the time.
The victim's fiancée said the tragedy has left a gaping hole in an entire community. Teodoro was the owner of Great Harvest Bread Company, one of the small businesses that's the backbone of Warrenton.
"The loss is profound," his fiancée, Brittany Erickson, said. "The gap is devastating."
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The countless messages now decorating his bakery explain how customers felt like they knew him for a lifetime.
News4 first met Teodoro three years ago, at the start of the pandemic. When the grocery store shelves went barren, Teodoro went to work.
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The shelves at the Fauquier Food Bank were getting empty and they were in dire need of a restock for community members.
"I called the food bank to make sure that they had a need. She was weeping on the telephone," Teodoro said in 2020.
Sharon Ames at the food bank said, "I cried. I was crying and I made no sense with him on the phone. I kept saying, 'Oh my God, are you kidding? Are you kidding?'"
Teodoro and his bakers baked, and the cheers went up on social media. Those cheers yielded donations to keep the bakery in business, so it could continue to help others.
Now he is gone. Teodoro's fiancée says his heart for service was the message he gave his staff during their last meeting before his crash: "'If you can do one extraordinary thing for one person, every single day, then that's what the purpose is.'"
His tragic death may ultimately serve a purpose he never intended.
NHTSA investigating 44 Tesla crashes that killed 23 people to determine if autopilot was a factor
The Fauquier County sheriff’s office in Virginia said in a statement that on July 19, Teodoro's Tesla ran underneath the side of a tractor-trailer pulling out of a truck stop. The department says the truck driver was charged with reckless driving. Additional charges are possible once the investigation is completed, the sheriff's office said.
Sheriff's office spokesperson Jeffrey Long said the possible role of automated driving systems in the crash is under investigation. The sheriff's office "is investigating the crash to determine the cause and any potential culpability,” Long said in an email, according to the Associated Press. “The NHTSA is also involved and will contribute their expertise toward any investigative conclusion.”
The crash is now part of a federal investigation into Tesla's autopilot driving. NHTSA is currently investigating 44 Tesla crashes that killed 23 people over the last eight years to determine if autopilot was a factor.
A Fauquier County sheriff's search warrant says witnesses didn't see Teodoro's Tesla hit the brakes before the crash. The warrant shows that deputies collected the Tesla's event data recorder.
"That information will provide analysis on whether the autopilot was being used on the Tesla," Jeffrey Long of the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office said. "Also, the speed at the time of the crash."
News4 attempted to get a response from Tesla, but the company disbanded its public relations department.
As for the NHTSA investigation, the administration says it won't comment on open investigations.
'Giving and loving and caring:' Teodoro's loved ones honor his legacy
His sister, Irene Teodoro, is the bakery's manager. She's fueled by his energy, still alive in the store.
"All of his intentions for giving and loving and caring about people, they're all right here," she said. "So, there's no place that I'd rather be."
"He's not here, but he's everywhere, and we owe it to him to do everything we can, you know?" Erickson said.
Pablo Teodoro spent the rest of his life with his fiancée, and although she won't spend the rest of hers with him, she's keeping his spirit alive for the benefit of others.
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