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The driver who died in the Tesla Autopilot crash narrowly avoided a similar accident in April

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The driver was in a Tesla Model S when the accident occurred. William Wei, Business Insider

Joshua Brown, 45, was reportedly the victim of Tesla's fatal Autopilot crash.

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Tesla declined to share specific information about the driver with Tech Insider out of respect for privacy, but according to the Levy Journal Online and a reporter from Forbes who spoke with the Florida county coroner's office, the driver was Brown, an Ohio man who had avoided a collision in April because of Tesla's Autopilot system. 

"On May 7 at 3:40 p.m. on U.S. 27 near the BP Station west of Williston, a 45-year-old Ohio man was killed when he drove under the trailer of an 18-wheel semi. The top of Joshua Brown’s 2015 Tesla Model S vehicle was torn off by the force of the collision," the Levy Journal article reported.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary evaluation into the performance of Autopilot in response to the fatal accident. The NHTSA wrote in a statement to Tech Insider that the accident occurred May 7 in Williston, Florida and involved a 2015 Tesla Model S.

An Ohio.com obituary also says Brown, who worked for Nexu Innovations, "died in a tragic motor vehicle accident May 7, 2016."

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The YouTube channel recording Brown's Tesla avoiding an accident is linked to a Google+ page confirming he worked for Nexu Innovations. 

The Levy County coroner did not immediately return Tech Insider's request for comment, but confirmed to Forbe's reporter Brian Soloman that the driver in the accident is Brown.

Brown recorded Tesla's Autopilot saving him from an accident with a boom lift truck in April. At the time, the truck was merging onto the interstate, clearly not seeing Brown's Tesla Model S in its blind-spot, when Autopilot engaged and swerved to the right to avoid an accident.

"I actually wasn't watching that direction and Tessy (the name of my car) was on duty with autopilot engaged," driver Joshua Brown wrote about his experience. "I became aware of the danger when Tessy alerted me with the 'immediately take over' warning chime and the car swerving to the right to avoid the side collision."

In a blog post outlining the fatal Autopilot crash, Tesla wrote that a Model S was driving down a divided highway when a tractor trailer cut across the highway perpendicular to the vehicle.

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"Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied. The high ride height of the trailer combined with its positioning across the road and the extremely rare circumstances of the impact caused the Model S to pass under the trailer, with the bottom of the trailer impacting the windshield of the Model S," Tesla said in its blog post.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary evaluation into the performance of Autopilot in response to the fatal accident. 

"ODI has identified, from information provided by Tesla and from other sources, a report of a fatal highway crash involving a 2015 Tesla Model S operating with automated driving systems (“Autopilot”) activated. This preliminary evaluation is being opened to examine the design and performance of any automated driving systems in use at the time of the crash," the NHTSA wrote in a report.

You can read Tesla's full blog post about the investigation here.

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