Rivian (driver) blamed for death of a teen hit in school parking lot

[narmstrong79]

Horrible and unfortunate news of a young man struck and killed.

The news article calls Rivian out specifically. https://ktla.com/news/local-news/teenage-boy-gravely-injured-in-parking-lot-of-l-a-school/

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[Donald Stanfield]

It’s a tragedy but has nothing to do with the vehicle involved being a Rivian.

 

[Nixapatfan]

you forgot "driver" in your title

 

[narmstrong79]

It’s a tragedy but has nothing to do with the vehicle involved being a Rivian.

Agreed, but they highlight that it is.

 

[ndmiller]

The Rivian was not blamed for the death of the teen, the Driver was. Clickbait title.

Because student pick ups are done at very slow speeds, there is speculation that the Rivian’s driver may have inadvertently hit the gas pedal instead of the vehicle’s brakes, leading to a chain reaction and tragic consequences. Investigators, however, have not confirmed that detail.​

 

[antimatter]

Agreed on the clickbate title. They're trying to get pro-EV readers to show up to defend electric vehicles, and anti-EV readers to show up and vindicate their feelings.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Agreed, but they highlight that it is.

For sure. I understand why you posted it the way you did. Yet another example of sensationalism where journalism should be.

 

[jerseyff]

Horrible and unfortunate news of a young man struck and killed.

The news article calls Rivian out specifically. https://ktla.com/news/local-news/teenage-boy-gravely-injured-in-parking-lot-of-l-a-school/

I read a news article that states the manufacturer of the vehicle that a human was driving, hit the wrong pedal...resulting in a unfortunate accident.

OP clickbait fail.

 

[CosmicRivian]

I was just coming to post the same as the commenters above. This is suspected driver error (horribly tragic driver error) and posting it in the manner posted here secondarily compounds the tragedy.

It's worse than "clickbait" because it implicates a "Rivian" for a pedestrian death rather than the "driver of the Rivian". This verges on libelous speech because it falsely attributes agency and culpability to an inanimate object (the vehicle) instead of the human operator responsible for its control, potentially misleading the public and damaging the reputation of the manufacturer (and EVs more broadly perhaps).

This misrepresentation implies the vehicle itself was inherently at fault or somehow acted autonomously to cause harm, rather than being an instrument operated by a person.

We can all do better by offering the context we know to be part of the larger story rather than rushing to perpetuate false or misleading information. When the OP ignored the context, they participated in further compounding the tragic event.

 

[COdogman]

How long until the driver claims it was the Rivian that "suddenly accelerated" and they "know" they didn't press the pedal

 

[CosmicRivian]

Also, blaming poor journalism or using poor journalism as an excuse to mislead (even through contextual omission) makes a person culpable (even if just morally).

The reality is that this story doesn't even belong in this forum. It was about a tragic event in which a young life was taken, and many more were impacted forever, but it has almost nothing to do with Rivian itself.

Can you imagine being the driver who accidentally killed a teenager?! Can you imagine being the parents of the teen who was killed?! My god, the horror of being involved in any way. The poor father who was on scene. Good god. It fills me with dread to put myself in any of their shoes.

My vote is that future posts like this don't make it to the forum. A tragic story, covered by a sloppy reporter, reposted misleadingly here.

As I said previously, we can all do better.

 

[narmstrong79]

I read a news article that states the manufacturer of the vehicle that a human was driving, hit the wrong pedal...resulting in a unfortunate accident.

OP clickbait fail.

My point is the make and model of the car is irrelevant, just as they only listed the other car as a "smaller white SUV" They made it a point to call out the Rivian by name.

 

[CosmicRivian]

My point is the make and model of the car is irrelevant, just as they only listed the other car as a "smaller white SUV" They made it a point to call out the Rivian by name.

Indeed, and you compounded and perpetuated the sensational journalism through a misleading headline and post here. They made a point to call out the Rivian by name and you made a point to further echo the decision here through a sensational/provocative headline.

If you think the make and model is irrelevant to the actual story (as you indicate above), reach out to the news source and call them on it.

 

[Great Gatsby]

While I agree with what everyone is saying, I am with the OP in that it seems VERY odd to name the Rivian but not the other car involved. It has nothing to do with anything. Something tragic happened but whoever wrote the article clearly wanted to at least insinuate the Rivian was at least partially at fault.

 

[SalmonAvocadoRoll]

First, this is a tragedy. I can’t imagine the grief the parents are going through. And while likely driver error, there are a few legitimate Rivian questions that can be asked in the hopes of having safer vehicles for us all: should any automatic braking have kicked in? Should the car have reduced acceleration if another car is so close in front? Again, really feeling for this family.

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