Tesla confirmed this week it is investigating a fatal Model S crash that reportedly took place in China in January 2016 in which a 23-year-old driver was killed, Reuters reports. China's CCTV news outlet published dashcam footage from the vehicle itself, which shows it striking a street-sweeping vehicle in the far left lane of a highway. The driver, Gao Yaning, is said to have borrowed his father's car.

The video shows the Model S striking the street sweeper which is partially parked in the left lane, though it is impossible to tell whether the brakes were applied in the seconds prior to the crash despite appearances to the contrary. Local police have been unable to confirm whether the driver attempted to brake in the moments before to the collision or if the sedan's semi-autonomous Autopilot driver assist system was engaged, though China's CCTV news agency sides with the opinion that Autopilot was active at the time.

Tesla, which is currently being sued by the family of the victim, indicated this week there is "no way of knowing" if Autopilot was engaged at the time of the crash; in previous accidents this spring and summer, Tesla was able to produce very specific data regarding Autopilot usage and other vehicle parameters prior to and during crashes, though it is not known if Tesla has been able to examine the car itself.

"Because of the damage caused by the collision, the car was physically incapable of transmitting log data to our servers," Tesla told reporters from Reuters.

Tesla also indicated it has been unable to get more information about the circumstances of the crash from the victim's family.

Earlier this week, Tesla announced a software update for the Autopilot system, adding highway off-ramp capability in addition to increased safety monitoring by the vehicle. With update 8.0, Autopilot will not allow itself to be re-engaged if the driver repeatedly ignores warnings to keep his or her hands on the steering wheel, as the system requires; a complete stop is required to be able to re-engage Autopilot or restart the car. Update 8.0 also introduced software that learns from the radar sensor's false positives; instances when radar detects overhead and roadside signs as objects in the path of the vehicle, with the system designed to ignore them.

Tesla has not indicated whether, based on the dashcam footage of the crash, the incident resembles an instance when Autopilot's cameras could have treated the rear of the sweeper truck as a roadside sign. Tesla's investigation into a crash in Florida in May of this year suggested (but has not confirmed) that Autopilot could have confused an 18-wheeler's trailer for an overhead highway sign. Tesla also examined the braking system of the car from the Florida crash.

Tesla also recently instituted a retraining program for its dealership staff in China, following claims by the victim of a minor crash that company salespeople and the dealership advertised the car as "self-driving" and that salespeople took their hands off the wheel while demonstrating Autopilot functions.

The automaker has not addressed the China crash on its official blog.

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