A North Carolina teenager is in good condition after sustaining life-threatening injuries when he was struck by a Tesla
RALEIGH, NC — A North Carolina teenager who was struck by a car this week while getting off a school bus in Halifax County is now in good condition, a hospital spokesman said Friday.
Tillman Mitchell, a 17-year-old student at the Haliwa-Saponi Tribal School in Hollister, had just gotten off the school bus and was crossing the street home when he was struck by a 2022 Tesla Model Y, according to the state. Highway Patrol.
He was taken to WakeMed with life-threatening injuries Wednesday afternoon and was in good condition Friday morning, hospital spokeswoman Kristin Kelly said.
The driver, identified as Dr. Howard Gene Yee, a 51-year-old dentist in Roanoke Rapids, failed to stop for the stopped school bus, which the highway patrol said had all its warning devices activated.
First Sergeant Christopher Knox of the State Highway Patrol said initial evaluation indicated distracted driving. Investigators are looking into whether the Tesla was in autopilot mode at the time of the crash, he said.
Yee was placed in the Halifax County Jail on $25,000 secured bond and charged with reckless driving and “running the school bus into a person,” according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Yee’s dental office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
