https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xgdq4k/100-sure-police-were-almost-certainly-wrong-that-tesla-crash-had-no-one-behind-the-wheel

In April, a Tesla Model S ran a curb and crashed into a tree in a Houston suburb, bursting into flames and killing both men inside. At the time, the crash received widespread media coverage, including from Motherboard, because police told a local news station “no one was driving the car.” They backed this up later, adding they were “100 percent sure” of this. The assertion raised additional safety concerns regarding Tesla’s Autopilot and the way the company markets the service. 

But a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, strongly suggests the police were wrong. While cautioning the results are preliminary, the NTSB said the recovered data from the onboard computer says “both the driver and the passenger seats were occupied, and that the seat belts were buckled” at the time of the crash. The car was traveling at 67 miles per hour, despite being just 550 feet from the driveway on the cul-de-sac it began the trip from, and the acceleration pedal was being applied at a maximum of 98.8 percent force. Additionally, the steering wheel was deformed due to impact, further evidence someone was in the driver's seat at the time of the crash.