A Tesla Model Y turning left at an intersection collided with a pickup truck in Batavia, Illinois, killing a passenger in the Tesla — Maggie Espinosa, 37, a teacher and mother of five. It was reported as an ordinary intersection crash.
But Electrek was able to confirm that Tesla’s own report to federal regulators says the car’s driver-assist system was engaged as it made that turn. This is part of an ongoing Electrek investigation matching reported crashes to Tesla’s redacted NHTSA data.
What happened at Randall and McKee
Around 4:19 p.m. on March 25, 2026, a Tesla Model Y heading south on Randall Road tried to turn left onto McKee Street and struck a Dodge pickup traveling straight in the opposite direction, according to Batavia police. A Nissan SUV was also caught up in the crash.
Espinosa, a front-seat passenger in the Tesla, died of her injuries. A former kindergarten teacher, she left behind five children, including 2-year-old twins; a GoFundMe for the family raised more than $100,000. The Tesla’s driver and two others were injured.
What Tesla told the federal government
Under a NHTSA Standing General Order, automakers must report crashes where a Level 2 driver-assist system was engaged within 30 seconds of impact. Tesla filed a report on this crash — and it’s revealing.
Tesla marks the automation “Engagement Status” as “Verified Engaged,” and lists the 2026 Model Y’s pre-crash movement as “Making Left Turn” at 24 mph, at an intersection. It says the Tesla struck the front of the pickup, which had the right of way going straight. And it confirms Tesla holds the event-data recorder, telematics, and video of the crash.
Then it redacts the parts that would explain it: the crash narrative, the software version, and whether the road was within the system’s approved operating area — all as “confidential business information.”
We’ve laid out the complete record below — everything Tesla disclosed, and everything it blacked out.
Electrek contacted Batavia PD to let them know that Tesla confirmed its ADAS was active during the crash and ask for an update on the investigation. Batavia PD said that the crash “remains under investigation and is currently under review by the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.” No charges have been filed. And in the public account, there was no mention of Autopilot, “Full Self-Driving,” or any driver-assist system.
Tesla Full Self-Driving vs Autopilot
This one points more directly at “Full Self-Driving” than the highway cases we’ve covered. An unprotected left turn across oncoming traffic at an intersection is a City-Streets maneuver — something FSD does, and something basic Autopilot cannot. Basic Autopilot is a highway lane-keeping system; it does not turn a car left onto a cross street. So a driver-assist car that was verified engaged while making a left turn was, in all likelihood, running FSD.
However, that doesn’t mean FSD was at fault in the crash, but we don’t know without all the data, and Tesla is the one gatekeeping it. It didn’t even want the public to know that FSD was active in the crash until we were able to connect the NHTSA report to the media and police reports about the crash.
How we matched it: the NHTSA record is unredacted on location (Batavia), vehicle (2026 Model Y), the left-turn-into-a-pickup mechanics, the fatality, and the month — a combination unique to this crash. One caveat: the incident time Tesla logged (12:54 UTC) does not cleanly convert to the ~4:19 p.m. local time police reported, unlike the other crashes we’ve matched, so we’re flagging that discrepancy rather than relying on it; every other identifying detail lines up.
Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
Reviewed By: Editorial Team
