Photo: Slidell Police Department
Police were dispatched to a gas station in Slidell, Louisiana at 4 p.m. on Friday after a man called 911 alleging he had been hit by a nearby Tesla.
Upon arriving, the officers found 47-year-old Arthur Bates Jr. who had made the call, alleging that the Tesla had backed into him before the driver fled the scene, according to a post on the police department’s Facebook page (via Fox 2 Detroit). Bates also claimed he had fallen to the ground in the crash, sustaining back, neck, and leg injuries – which prompted the officers to summon an ambulance and a fire truck.
In further investigation, however, the officers were able to track down the Tesla owner, who said that Bates had intentionally jumped behind his car, staging the accident.
Tesla Sentry Mode from Random Cars Helps Band Film Music Video [WATCH] https://t.co/c5C6DnQElc
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) July 28, 2021
Later, officers were able to watch the footage captured in the Tesla vehicle, which revealed that Bates had, in fact, purposely scooted closer to the car, before the Tesla stopped and the man fell to the ground. Following the fall, a man can be seen coming into the frame, presumably the driver, then slapping Bates’s foot off of the Tesla’s bumper before driving away.
Bates later admitted to officers that he had fabricated the event, and was arrested for False Swearing with Intent to Cause an Emergency Response.
Tesla’s cameras have been known to capture important footage before, especially with its Sentry Mode while the car is inactive, and including brazen RV theft and the cause of a recent house fire – among many other situations still.
Thanks @USMC_NASCARFire
