He told Louisiana police a Tesla hit him. The on-board camera tells a different story
A 47-year-old man is accused of lying to police in Louisiana after a Tesla’s on-board camera showed he staged being hit in a gas station parking lot over the weekend.
Arthur Bates Jr. was arrested Friday and charged with false swearing with the intent to cause an emergency response, the Slidell Police Department said in a Facebook post. The post include a 38-second video clip from the Tesla.
“Unbeknownst to Bates, Teslas record all the footage of their cameras,” police said. “When Slidell Police officers reviewed the Tesla’s video footage, it became apparent that Bates was lying and staged the entire event.”
The video shows a man in bright shorts and slide sandals standing behind a slow-moving car. It stops, at which point the man appears to run into the rear bumper and slowly fall backward.
With one leg propped on the bumper, he grimaces as if in pain.
The man, later identified as Bates, continues to lie on the ground for a few seconds before another person moves into the frame and slaps his foot off the tailgate. The car then drives away with Bates still on the ground.
Police said Bates called 911 around 4 p.m. to report being hit by a car that fled the scene.
A fire truck and ambulance also arrived after Bates reportedly told police he had injured his back, leg and neck.
Police later tracked down the driver of the Tesla, who said Bates “intentionally jumped behind his vehicle and staged the accident.”
The Tesla’s camera corroborated the driver’s story, police said, and Bates “admitted to fabricating the entire event.”
This story was originally published September 7, 2021 at 11:21 AM with the headline "He told Louisiana police a Tesla hit him. The on-board camera tells a different story."
