MILLE LACS, Minn. — Just days after authorities said they'd questioned a man who may be responsible for striking and killing a beloved doctor by Mille Lacs Lake last November, search warrants revealed the man claimed it's possible his Tesla could have been operating on autopilot and he didn't know he hit her.
The crash happened on the afternoon of Nov. 13 along Highway 169, as Dr. Cathy Donovan walked her dog. To the public, the months-long search for the person responsible seemed to yield few results, but behind the scenes, recently released search warrants show investigators had been following several pieces of evidence, leading them to a Twin Cities man and his Tesla.
According to the warrants, police seized the man's Tesla and held him for questioning, in which he initially denied hitting and killing Donovan.
He did, however, allegedly admit to using that route to go back and forth to his cabin.
In a subsequent interview, the man told police that if he was involved, it's likely he was using the vehicle's self-driving capabilities, according to the warrant.
"He does not remember hitting Cathy Donovan with his Tesla, but said if he did he would have been alone in his Tesla, driving on 'auto-pilot,' not paying attention to the road, while doing things like checking his work emails," BCA Special Agent Chad Kleffman wrote in a search warrant affidavit.
A statement sent to KARE 11 Friday from the man's lawyer called Donovan's death a "horrible tragedy" and said his client will "continue to fully cooperate" with the investigation.
"This is a horrible tragedy for all involved," the attorney's statement said. "My client is inconsolable thinking that he was involved in the accident with Ms. Donovan, and he is heartbroken for her family, her loved ones, and the community. We are committed to finding out the entire truth about what occurred. My client voluntary spoke to investigators and he explained it is probable his car would’ve been using Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Capability. He will continue to fully cooperate with this investigation until its completion as we continue to learn new information."
Investigators said after Donovan's body was discovered, they also found several key pieces of evidence, including a windshield wiper laying next to her. They also reviewed area cell tower data, surveillance video and witness testimony to try determine who was involved.
When they initially inspected the Tesla driver's car, officers did not see visible damage, an earlier search warrant said. But the latest filing gives an update after the BCA Crime Scene Team processed the Tesla.
"[The Tesla] appeared to have light front passenger side quarter panel defects, including slight separation between the hood and passenger side quarter panel, slight separation of molding on the passenger side wheel well and the hood appeared to have been slightly moved backward from its original factory position. No blood or dried bodily fluids were noted. DNA swabs were taken from the front end area. The swabs have not been analyzed for DNA yet."
Mille Lacs County Sheriff Kyle Burton told KARE 11 on Feb. 1 that finding a person to question was a significant break, but could not say for 100% certainty that this man was responsible.
"Certainly not saying this is 100% the car or the person, we don't know that yet, but it's one of the more significant breaks we've caught in the case so far," said Sheriff Burton. "And I don't think they're done yet; I think there's going to be more to come."
When asked about that autopilot claim on Friday, Burton told KARE 11 he also had been "informed some comments were allegedly made by him regarding driving in autopilot mode.”
According to Tesla's website, autopilot and full self-driving capability modes "are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment." By requiring a form of supervision, these modes are not considered to be fully "autonomous."
"This case is unique, and we're probably going to start seeing things like this, but he's still in charge of the car," legal expert Michael Bryant said. "He can't just blame it on the car and say, 'that's okay, I have nothing to do with it.'"
As cars move toward a more fully autonomous future, though, these cases could become complicated.
Tom Fisher, the director of the Minnesota Design Center at the University of Minnesota, has studied the impact of autonomous vehicles extensively and predicts a rapid shift over the next 10 to 15 years.
"As we're in this transition from driver to driverless cars, we're going to find that's a gray area. It will be hard to judge. Is it really the driver error, or was it somehow the autonomous technology that caused that?" Fisher said. "Despite our tendency to want to blame technology, almost all the accidents on the road are because of the drivers -- not because of a vehicle malfunction."
In the Mille Lacs County case, investigators are now tasked with pulling data from the Tesla's hard drive, and any forensic evidence they might recover from swabs, like DNA from blood, skin and/or hair.
As of Friday, the driver of the Tesla had not been officially charged.
"The important thing at the end of the day is to get it right because we owe it to the family and we owe it to Dr. Donovan to do that," said Sheriff Burton.
Following the crash, Donovan's family offered up a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. While the driver of the Tesla continues to be investigated, Burton said police are still asking for more tips to help them close the case.
If you have any information, you can contact the sergeant in charge, Jason Brown. He can be reached at 218-316-3026 or jason.brown@state.mn.us.
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