A man charged with manslaughter is accused of making multiple Google searches about Tesla's Full Self-Driving Mode not being “aggressive enough” before the Model 3 he was driving crashed through a home in Katy and killed an elderly woman, according to a criminal complaint.
A Harris County Sheriff's Office investigator wrote in a criminal complaint against David Michael Butler that after reviewing crash data and footage, she determined that Butler overrode Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Mode, pressing the accelerator all the way down to “100% pedal to the metal,” before hitting the curb, going airborne and crashing into the home.
Martha Avila’s family members, Jennifer and Justin Barbour, filed a civil lawsuit against Tesla and Butler last week seeking over $1 million in relief.
Google searches flagged by sheriff's office
Butler, 44, on Wednesday was charged with manslaughter, a felony offense, and booked into the Harris County Jail, according to court records. His bail was set at $150,000.
A lawyer was appointed for Butler Thursday. The Chronicle left a message with Andrew Russel Herreth's firm.
Jae Philipbar, a deputy sheriff and investigator with the sheriff’s office, said she responded to the crash around 8:04 p.m. on June 19 and saw the Tesla stuck inside the home. Avila was taken via LifeFlight to the hospital, where she died at 9:14 p.m, according to the complaint.
Officials obtained written consent from Butler to search and seize his Tesla and verbal consent to search his cell phone, Philipbar said in the complaint. Data from the vehicle included “videos from the Tesla’s dash-camera and exterior driver-door camera, as well as logs of the Tesla’s speed, accelerator pedal input, brake pedal input, steering activity, turn signal activity and more.”
Investigators with the sheriff’s office observed “multiple Google searches related to Tesla” made from Butler's phone in May, the complaint said, “indicating an apparent frustration with Tesla’s FSD mode,” or Tesla’s Full-Self Driving Mode.
Butler searched: “teslafsd not aggressive enough 2026 model,” “FSD is not aggressive enough for city driving,” and “tesla fsd too timid,” according to the complaint.
Tesla driver made multiple DoorDash deliveries before crash
Butler told officials “the last thing he remembered before the crash was that he was operating his Tesla on Texas 6, using Tesla’s Full Self Driving Mode” while driving for DoorDash, Philipbar said in the complaint.
"This is a horrible and senseless tragedy, and our thoughts are with Martha Avila's family," a DoorDash spokesperson said in a statement to the Chronicle. "We have fully cooperated with law enforcement throughout their investigation and hope justice is ultimately served. We have deactivated this individual's account."
Butler “had activated and used Full Self Driving mode to operate the Tesla to travel to multiple DoorDash pick-ups and deliveries in the hours and minutes leading up to the crash, without experiencing any mechanical failure, collisions, or other driving incidents," Philipbar said of her review of data from the vehicle.
She also said door video showed Butler got out of the vehicle and appeared to make a DoorDash delivery before getting back in the vehicle minutes before the crash.
Philipbar said Butler appeared to be “awake, conscious, alert, able to stand, able to walk, and able to move his body normally,” while making the last delivery before the crash, according to the complaint.
Pedal overrides full-self driving mode, investigators say
Philipbar said that after the delivery, the Tesla appeared to move down the street at a normal speed and the accelerator pedal wasn't pressed. She observed the Tesla decrease in speed and come to an almost complete stop at the corner of two streets, according to the complaint.
She alleges Butler pressed the accelerator and overrode self-driving mode when the vehicle was about to turn, and that the steering wheel also changed from left to right, causing the vehicle to go straight into Avila's cul-de-sac instead, the complaint states.
“In about six seconds, the accelerator pedal was pressed all the way down to 100%, ‘pedal to the metal,’ and the vehicle reached a speed of 73 miles per hour, more than double the speed limit on that residential street,” Philipbar stated. The Tesla struck the curb in front of Avila's home before going airborne toward the front of the home, the complaint said.
Philipbar said she researched FSD technology and spoke with a Harris County District Attorney’s Office investigator who had years of experience reconstructing crash scenes and previously analyzed Tesla vehicles involved in fatal crashes.
“FSD mode was designed and is programmed to never travel at excessive or dangerous speeds in any location, unless the driver overrides the speed and gains control of the speed by pressing on the accelerator pedal,” Philipbar stated.
Butler reportedly “denied feeling ill earlier in the day,” “denied feeling any headache, dizziness, or weakness” and denied having any history of seizures or blurry vision, she said. Butler was taken to Memorial Hermann in Katy after the crash, and two officials accompanied him, according to the complaint. Butler was found to have no evidence of a seizure, stroke, heart attack or intoxication, according to the complaint.
