A California man has served one day in the Cochise County jail and is now on probation after being convicted of reckless endangerment and driving while impaired last summer when his Tesla collided at roughly 65 mph with a parked DPS patrol vehicle along Interstate 10.
Omeed Shaaf initially said the self-driving feature of his Tesla was activated when the crash occurred shortly before 4 a.m. on July 14, 2020 east of Benson. According to the Tesla’s website, its auto-pilot feature allows the car “to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within its lane…without driver input.”
Shaaf, 24, recently accepted a plea deal after tests confirmed the feature was not in use, and that he, instead, had been under the influence at the time. He has been ordered to take part in a Jan. 18 restitution hearing to determine how much he must pay the Arizona Department of Transportation for its response to the accident that closed eastbound I-10 for several hours.
While on probation the next three years, Shaaf must undergo drug and alcohol screening, complete traffic survival school, and attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving program, according to the order signed by Judge Laura Cardinal this week. He is also prohibited from consuming alcohol or illegal substances and there may not be alcohol “in any residence the Defendant resides in.”
Public records show Sgt. Brian Summerfield’s fully marked SUV patrol vehicle was parked on the left shoulder of the roadway with its emergency lights in response to an unrelated call when the Tesla hit the SUV with such force the trooper’s vehicle several feet forward, causing it to collide into an ambulance that had also responded to the other call.
The back end of the trooper’s SUV ended up on the Tesla’s hood. There were no visible skid marks leading up to the crash area. Summerfield was standing near the ambulance at the time and avoided injury.
The Cochise County Attorney’s Office did not file formal charges in the case for nearly 11 months until drug and alcohol testing was completed, as well as an accident reconstruction and a mechanical examination of the Tesla.
The one day in jail was Shaaf’s sentence for the misdemeanor DUI conviction. If Shaaf violates the conditions of probation for the felony endangerment charge he could be sentenced to prison for anywhere from 4 months to 2 years. More likely, however, Shaaf’s probation officer would first activate a 30 day deferred incarceration provision included in the order of probation.
