A woman faces multiple charges after investigators determined she was driving under the influence of alcohol when she struck and killed two people on I-95 in Philadelphia in March.
Dimple Patel is charged with manslaughter by motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, homicide by motor vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence, reckless driving, careless driving, speeding and prohibited text communication in connection with the deaths of Aktilek Baktybekov and Tolobek Esenbekov, Pennsylvania State Police announced Monday.
Investigators said Baktybekov’s red Toyota Prius broke down on the left shoulder and partially in the left lane of northbound I-95 at mile marker 26.8 in Philadelphia at about 3:20 a.m. on March 3, 2024. Esenbekov had parked his gray Hyundai Elantra behind the Prius on the left shoulder, presumably to help Baktybekov, police said.
Baktybekov was standing on the road next to the Elantra while Esenbekov got out of the Elantra. At the same time, Patel was driving her yellow 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E with the vehicle’s BlueCruise hands-free feature and adaptive cruise control activated, investigators said.
Investigators believe Patel was using both the hands-free function and the cruise control at the time of the accident.
Police said Patel was traveling at 71 to 72 mph when she struck the rear of the Hyundai Elantra. The accident triggered a four-vehicle crash that struck both Baktybekov and Esenbekov, investigators said. Both Baktybekov and Esenbekov later died from their injuries.
Patel turned himself in to the Philadelphia Police Department at 2201 Belmont Avenue on Tuesday morning, police said. NBC10 contacted Patel’s attorney, who issued a statement Tuesday evening.
“I have not seen any evidence yet and we are still investigating the allegations, so I really can’t comment other than to say that Ms. Patel turned herself in this morning as requested and is presumed innocent,” the attorney wrote. “The deaths are, of course, a tragedy. It has been widely reported that state police have indicated that the vehicle was in some sort of autonomous driving mode, so we are certainly looking into that. We look forward to resolving this matter in court.”
In a statement Tuesday, the Pennsylvania State Police said drivers using advanced technologies should be prepared to regain control at any time.
“No partially automated vehicle technology should ever be required to perform alone the driving tasks required to safely navigate Commonwealth roads,” the agency said.
Ford’s Blue Cruise system allows the driver to take their hands off the wheel while it takes over steering, braking and acceleration on highways. The company says the system is not fully autonomous and checks the driver to make sure they are paying attention to the road.
The crash was at least the second this year in which a Mach-E collided with a stationary vehicle after dark that the NTSB has investigated. In a February crash on Interstate 10 in San Antonio, Texas, investigators believe a Mach-E collided with a Honda CR-V that was parked in the middle lane without its lights on.
The driver of the CR-V was killed.
