TESLA DRIVER USING AUTOPILOT BARRELS THROUGH TEXAS HOUSE KILLING GRANDMA

Daily Mail

 

Video shows moment Tesla driver using autopilot BARRELS through Texas brick house killing a Grandma inside her home

By SOPHIA BAUM

Published: 14:58 EDT, 21 June 2026 | Updated: 06:15 EDT, 22 June 2026

 

An elderly woman was killed in her own living room on Friday after a Tesla, allegedly in self-driving mode, plowed through her suburban Texas home.

 

Martha Avila, 76, died on June 19, after 44-year-old Michael Butler's Tesla veered off a quiet residential road in Katy, Texas, while Autopilot mode was activated, before penetrating the front of the house, according to KHOU.

 

Butler was traveling in his Tesla Model 3 around 8 p.m. local time in Katy, Texas, and was operating the vehicle 'with an automated driving assistance system,' according to the Harris County Sherriff's office.

 

The family home was occupied by two parents, three young children and Avila at the time of the crash.

 

'She (Avila) didn't deserve to go this way,' the grief-stricken family told KHOU.

 

Doorbell footage uploaded to X revealed the harrowing moment the Tesla veered off the road and onto Avila's property after crossing an intersection, barreling full speed towards the home.

 

The vehicle slammed through the brick exterior of the property with such force that it ended up in the playroom.

 

The video also caught the loud screech the car emitted as it crashed into the home.

 

Emergency crews rushed to the scene where Life Flight airlifted Avila to hospital, and was later pronounced dead after life-saving measures were performed.

 

Avila's family shared photos of her with KHOU 11, telling the news outlet they are still grappling with what has happened.

 

Her husband Justin Barbour relayed that he was cooking at the stove 30 seconds before the fatal crash.

 

Jennifer Barbour, Avila's daughter, told KHOU she was in the backyard when she heard a loud boom.

 

According to the outlet, Barbour frantically found her husband and three children, but after the dust and smoke settled, she discovered her mother had been struck.

 

'My three kids were at my neighbor's when we went to the hospital to check on my mom," Barbour said. 'And then they told us they couldn't save her.'

 

Barbour also described the moment she had to inform the children that their Grandma was gone. 

 

'I'm still wearing the same clothes from yesterday.' Barbour said, adding that the family is currently staying in a hotel.

 

Butler also sustained injuries in the crash but is still alive after being taken to hospital by ambulance.

 

Investigators have stated that Butler showed no signs of intoxication and is co-operating fully with authorities.

 

Harris County Sherriff’s Office Sgt. Alex Turman, an accident investigator and public information officer, told ABC's Alex Presha that the cause of the crash has not been determined.

 

'We’re digging into that. That’s a line of investigation for sure,' Turman responded, when asked whether the vehicle’s automated driving features were in use.

 

Turman added that investigators are working with people familiar with Tesla vehicles and with the driver to determine 'what role the driver’s control over the car played in this crash.'

 

Tesla’s controversial 'Autopilot' feature, despite its name, is not a fully self-driving system and still requires constant driver supervision.

 

Critics argue the branding is dangerously misleading, lulling motorists into a false sense of security, who may assume the car is capable of driving itself.

 

However, online spectators remain unconvinced about the lack of responsibility adopted by Butler.

 

'Autopilot will adjust to the speed limits of the street unless you intentionally speed the car up.' One said.

 

'Autopilot at that speed in a residential area… Riiiiight…' added another skeptic.

 

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Harris County Sherriff's office and Tesla for comment.  

 

This is not the first incident involving Teslas in Texas in recent months.

 

In April, a driver reported that his Tesla randomly accelerated through a railroad gate, only narrowly missing a fast approaching train.

 

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.

IT'S FINALLY LEGAL FOR KIDS TO PLAY PINBALL IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Not the Bee

 

It’s finally legal for kids to play pinball in South Carolina

Mister Retrops

Jun 21, 2026

 

In total disregard of slippery slopes, South Carolina just passed a law legalizing pinball for minors.

 

Back when coin-operated pinball machines were first created during the Great Depression, they didn't have the classic flippers.

 

The ball would just bounce around and land in different holes. Store owners would then offer their customers prizes based on which hole the ball landed.

 

Given that it was a game of chance, pinball was largely outlawed for minors as a gambling device.

 

In the late 1940s, however, manufacturers added the flippers and transformed the game of chance into a game of skill.

 

It still took a while for states to come around to legalizing pinball for kids.

 

One of the most famous pinball games played was when Roger Sharpe called his shot and sent the ball straight down the center lane during a New York City council meeting held to prove pinball was a game of skill, not chance.

 

By the end of the 1970s, all the states had lifted the ban except one: South Carolina.

 

AND IT TOOK UNTIL 2026 FOR THE STATE TO GIVE IN!

 

The South Carolina Daily Gazette reports,

 

block quote

A law the governor signed last month removed the arcade game from the list of so-called status offenses outlawed for anyone under the age of 18, following a decade-long effort.

block quote end

 

A decade!

 

Gotta admire the efficiency of government.

 

block quote

Legislation to remove pinball from that list has been proposed repeatedly since 2015, with no luck — until this session.

block quote end

 

Of course, no one actually follows the ban anymore. Multiple senators acknowledge playing pinball when they were younger, and kids can be seen playing the game at locations across the state.

 

But if anyone DID enforce the law, the owners of businesses with pinball machines could be penalized, as absurd as that may be.

 

block quote

Even though no minors have faced charges of illegally playing pinball, the threat of breaking the law hung over business owners' heads, [House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford] said.

 

Bars, especially, don't want to do anything that could jeopardize their liquor license, he said.

block quote end

 

Now kids can finally enjoy pinball in peace … assuming you can pull them away from their electronic screens long enough to play a game where they have to use their hands.

ABORTION PILL ADVERTISEMENT AT US OPEN LEAVES GOLF FANS APPALLED

New York Post

 

Abortion pill advertisement at US Open leaves golf fans appalled: ‘Gross and divisive’

By Ryan King

Published June 22, 2026, 6:34 a.m. ET

 

Golf fans attending the third round of the US Open at Shinnecock Hills Saturday were left stunned when an airplane buzzed the course towing an advertisement promoting obtaining abortion pills by mail.

 

The ad was paid for by Mayday Health, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit dedicated to highlighting the availability of abortion medication and birth control pills across the country.

 

“It just felt gross and divisive. I’m sure that’s exactly what this group intended, which is a real shame,” one fan told The Post about the stunt.

 

“These kids kept pointing at the banner asking their parents ‘What does that say?’ And it was clear they had no clue how to respond. I mean, what do you even say?

 

“Especially when there are so many golfers and spectators who are strong in their faith — this felt like an intentional distraction by outside agitators to undermine the tournament,” the fan added.

 

The banner flew over the Southampton property for about 90 minutes, witnesses said.

 

The choice of venue was likely no accident, as the US Open famously concludes on Father’s Day weekend each year.

 

Mayday Health was founded in 2022 after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which struck down its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling and allowed each state to set its own abortion policy.

 

Mayday’s advertising ploys have caused controversy across America. In 2022, Mississippi clashed with the group over its billboards touting ways women can terminate their pregnancies.

 

In March, the group reached a settlement with South Dakota in which it agreed to “remove any signs with deceptive and unlawful advertisements,” according to the state attorney general’s office.

 

The United States Golf Association and Mayday Health did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

 

Wyndham Clark secured his second US Open win on Sunday, shooting a four-under-par 276 to hold off Sam Burns by one shot.

BILL MUMY LOOKS BACK ON CHILD STARDOM AND HOW HIS NOVELTY SONG FISHHEADS CAME TO BE

PEOPLE

 

Bill Mumy Looks Back on Child Stardom and How His Cult Classic 1978 Novelty Song 'Fish Heads' Came to Be

By Charlotte Phillipp  Published on June 21, 2026 05:29PM EDT

 

Bill Mumy is taking a look back at his storied career — including everything from his time as a child star to the surprise success of "Fish Heads."

 

In a new interview with CBS Sunday Morning on June 14, Mumy, 72, reflected on his time starring on hit series as a kid, including Lost in Space (in which he played Will Robinson from 1965 to 1968), episodes of The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and more.

 

Remembering when he finished production on Lost in Space after three seasons, Mumy shared that he was devastated.

 

"I cried," he recalled. "I actually can remember sitting on the blue couch in our den, and putting my head in my mom's lap and her just kind of petting my head, going, 'That's showbiz, honey.' "

 

Despite the ending of his hit series, Mumy shared that he was able to avoid the pitfalls that so many child actors face by finding another creative outlet — and for him, it was music.

 

"There are a lot of child stars who had sad endings, and when that one experience of a long-running television show was over, they weren't treated special anymore, and they had to find out who they were," he said.

 

Mumy's love for music eventually led to even more success in the form of Barnes & Barnes, his quirky rock and novelty duo group with the late Robert Haimer. The pair is best known for their bizarre 1978 cult classic song, "Fish Heads."

 

According to the actor-musician, the quirky track — the music video for which was named No. 57 on Rolling Stone's list of the top 100 music videos of all time — came about when he and Haimer were "jamming together."

 

"We're making up funny songs because we both liked '50s horror comic books and the Three Stooges and that kind of stuff," he recalled. "And it's just a release of excess energy."

 

"We went out to lunch, a restaurant on Pico Boulevard in West L.A. called Wan-Q, and we got a fish dish, and it came with the fish head on the plate kind of coiled up and giving you a little stare back before you got your knife out," Mumy shared. "And [Haimer] said, 'Roly poly fish heads. Let's eat them up. Yum.' "

 

The song, which Mumy described as having "a very primitive nursery rhyme kind of a melody," eventually made it to the recording studio. Although the success of the song was unexpected, Mumy said that it was a welcome surprise.

 

"You never know what's going to click with the audience, right?" he said. "I mean, you can have 300 songs that are very soulful and perhaps melodically interesting, and it's 'Fish Heads' that resonates and becomes locked in the ID of society for 40 years."

 

"'Fish Heads' has been very, very good to me," Mumy conceded. "'Fish Heads' has been very good. You know, it's been on The Simpsons. It's been a bunch of commercials. It's been in a lot of films. 'Fish Heads' has paid for a few vacations. 'Fish Heads' has definitely bought a few guitars."

 

According to Mumy, acting still holds a special place in his career, but music is where he eventually found his true passion.

 

"I don't want to diminish my enjoyment of acting," he told CBS. "I know the craft of acting and I'm comfortable whenever I do it. But if I'm not doing it, it's not like I go home and act. It's not like my wife Eileen and I sit around and do plays in the living room. But what I do do is, I play guitar and piano and music all the time."

CANADIAN PODCAST AUDIENCE REACHES NEW PEAK

Podcast Listening in Canada Reaches New Heights

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Download the 2026 Canadian Podcast Report

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