A Palm Beach County circuit judge has denied Tesla’s motion to dismiss a wrongful death case brought by the widow of a Lake Worth Beach man who died in a collision while driving a Tesla Model 3 equipped with an Autopilot system.

Judge Reid Scott issued the opinion on Nov. 17, paving the way for a possible trial to allow plaintiff Kim Banner to recover damages from Tesla and the owner and driver of a semi-tractor trailer after the death of her husband, Jeremy Banner. Banner died when his 2018 Tesla vehicle collided with the commercial truck, even though the Autopilot system was engaged at the time of the crash, according to the original complaint filed by Banner in 2019.

“… The subject Tesla Model 3 struck the left side of the semi-tractor trailer, causing the roof of the Tesla to be sheared off as the vehicle under-road the semi-tractor trailer and continued southbound coming to final rest 1,600 feet from where the collision occurred …” the complaint said.