A Louisiana man has been arrested for allegedly lying about being struck by a Tesla after the car’s 360-degree camera system recorded the entire indictment.
As reported by WHDH 7 News Boston, Arthur Bates Jr., 47, originally called 911 last Friday at around 4 p.m. and told police that he was seriously injured after he was hit by a reversing Tesla in a Gas Station parking lot in Slidell, Louisiana.
He alleged to have suffered back, leg, and neck injuries after he was struck by the vehicle, but according to police, the car’s cameras proved Bates was faking his injuries all along.
When police tracked down the Tesla’s driver, he told authorities that Bates intentionally leaped in front of the car as it reversed. Bates was also unaware that the car had multiple cameras. The video, which was provided to the public by Slidell Police, shows Bates jumping in front of the car, with the driver briefly speaking to him before driving off.
“When Slidell Police officers reviewed the Tesla’s video footage, it became apparent that Bates was lying and staged the entire event,” the department said in a statement. Bates allegedly admitted that he lied about being struck by the vehicle after he was shown the footage. He was then arrested for falsifying a police report.
In other Tesla-related news, the car company recently addressed safety issues that impacted around 300,000 vehicles in China. “We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this recall to all car owners,” Tesla said through social media on China’s Twitter-like website, Weibo. “Tesla will continue to improve safety in strict accordance with national requirements.”
