In Germany, a BMW test car with autonomous steering capability overturned in oncoming traffic, killing one person and injuring nine others. The police gave this information on Tuesday. A police spokesman in the southwestern city of Reutlingen said an electric BMW IX, including a small child, went out of its lane at a turn in the road with five people, causing a collision between four vehicles on Monday afternoon. A series of
After brushing off an oncoming Citroen, a BMW rammed a Mercedes-Benz van, resulting in the death of a 33-year-old passenger in that vehicle.
The 70-year-old driver of the Citroen lost control of his car and crashed into another vehicle along with two people, driving it off the road and engulfed in flames.
Reutlingen police spokesman Michael Schaal said four rescue helicopters and dozens of firefighters responded to the incident and the injured were taken to several hospitals in the area. These included a 43-year-old BMW driver, three adults aged 31, 42 and 47, and an 18-month-old child, all of whom were in the test vehicle.
Shawl said the police were yet to get an opportunity to interview the people involved in the accident.
“The vehicle that crashed was an autonomous electric test car,” police said in a statement. “Whether it was being driven by the 43-year-old (driver) is a matter of investigation.”
BMW confirmed that one of its test vehicles was involved in the collision near Reutlingen, but denied that the vehicle was fully autonomous.
“The vehicle has a Level 2 driving assistance system that is already included in production vehicles today and which can support the driver on demand,” the company said. “With Level 2 vehicles the driver always holds the responsibility.”
BMW said the vehicle needed to be marked as a test car for data protection purposes, as it was recording the footage.
“We are in the process of investigating the exact circumstances (of the accident),” BMW said. “Of course we are in close contact with the authorities.”
