A DoorDash driver in Texas has been charged with manslaughter after authorities said he accelerated the Tesla he was behind the wheel of moments before it crashed into a home, killing a 76-year-old grandmother inside.
Michael David Butler, 44, is facing the charge over the June 19 wreck in Katy, where investigators say his Tesla Model 3 left the road, jumped a curb and slammed through the front of a suburban family residence.
Inside the Barbour family home at the time were two parents, three young children and their beloved grandmother, Martha Avila. Avila was killed in the crash.
‘She (Avila) didn’t deserve to go this way,’ the grieving family told KHOU.
According to an arrest affidavit, Butler did not suffer serious injuries in the wreck and was found alone inside the vehicle by law enforcement shortly after the crash.
Investigators later seized the Tesla’s so-called “black box” and reviewed vehicle data along with dash camera footage. They concluded that Butler overrode the car’s Full Self-Driving system by pressing the accelerator to its maximum position shortly before impact.
Court records indicate the accelerator had not been pressed just once during the drive, but multiple times.
Butler initially told deputies he had been using Tesla’s driving technology while making DoorDash deliveries and said he became distracted while trying to change the music on the vehicle’s touchscreen, according to court documents.
Michael Butler has been charged with manslaughter after he purposely accelerated the Tesla he was driving before it ploughed into a suburban home, killing 76-year old grandmother Martha Avila
Butler who was said to have been making DoorDash deliveries at the time posited that he had nothing to do with the crash, blaming Tesla’s self driving technology for misfunctioning
Avila’s family shared photos of her with KHOU 11 and admitted they remain in shock as they grapple to comprehend what happened
Butler who was behind the wheel at the time, also sustained injuries in the crash but is still alive after being taken to hospital by ambulance.
He claimed to have ‘passed out’ and conveniently had no memory of the moments before the crash.
But investigators say the Tesla’s own electronic data tells another story.
Authorities allege the car automatically slowed as it approached a residential intersection, before Butler suddenly pressed the accelerator all the way to the floor, overriding the automated driving system.
The vehicle then surged to about 73mph along a residential street before failing to negotiate a left turn.
Investigators say there was no evidence Butler attempted to brake before the Model 3 struck a curb, launched into the air and slammed into Avila’s home with devastating force.
Doorbell footage uploaded to X revealed the harrowing moment. The video also caught the loud screech the car emitted as it crashed into the home.
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The 76-year-old grandmother was inside the property when the car crashed through the wall.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene where Life Flight airlifted Avila to hospital, and was later pronounced dead after life-saving measures were rendered unsuccessful.
Jennifer Barbour, Avila’s daughter, told KHOU she was in the backyard when she heard a loud boom
‘I’m still wearing the same clothes from yesterday.’ Barbour said a day after the death, adding that the family is currently staying in a hotel while the home is damaged
Tesla’s controversial ‘Autopilot’ feature, despite its name, is not a fully self-driving system and still requires constant driver supervision.
Authorities said investigators found no indication that a mechanical fault, unintended acceleration or vehicle defect caused the collision.
Butler tested negative for alcohol and common recreational drugs, while medical examinations reportedly ruled out a heart attack, seizure or stroke that could explain his claim that he lost consciousness.
Authorities further allege that Butler’s cellphone contained condemning internet searches made before the crash expressing frustration that Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software was not driving aggressively enough.
Tesla, who has faced mass scrutiny in the past over their self automated option has maintained that the company was not at fault.
Defensive executives took to social media to dispute Butler’s account, saying the car’s driver pressed the accelerator pedal down and adding the sadistic detail that Butler kept it pressed even after the crash.
Owner of Tesla, billionaire Elon Musk himself took to X to refute the matter, penning the words ‘This makes no sense.’
The automaker says that Full Self-Driving is designed to require continuous driver supervision and that drivers remain responsible for controlling the vehicle at all times.
However, the fatal crash has intensified scrutiny of Tesla’s driver-assistance technology as federal regulators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration continue investigating incidents involving Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems.
Musk refuted the claims Tesla was to blame and stated it made no sense as he defended the brand from a barrage of critics
A year prior, NHTSA launched an investigation into roughly 2.9 million Tesla vehicles over ‘Full Self-Driving’ running red lights and driving the wrong way, and the agency upgraded that probe in March 2026 to an engineering analysis.
Meanwhile, Avila’s devastated family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against both Butler and Tesla, suing them for $1 million, alleging negligence and arguing the crash could have been prevented.
Butler remains in custody at the Harris County jail, according to court records.
