That Mustang Mach-E Crash Video Probably Isn’t What You Think It Is

All day long, I’ve been getting pinged with this video of a man appearing to be praying in a Mustang Mach-E as it repeatedly crashes into a barrier and then into another car. People have speculated that the car was undergoing some form of unintended acceleration or, perhaps, the car’s advanced cruise control was going haywire. As a person who takes both driving and praying seriously, I was hesitant to jump on it because something seemed quite wrong. According to the California Highway Patrol, there might be a simple explanation.

I am old enough to remember another freak-out over unintended acceleration with green cars in California. It was 15 years ago, and Toyota was having an issue with floormats getting stuck underneath the skinny pedal on various cars. This led to a recall of almost four million vehicles. This also led to a bunch of random people claiming their cars–often Toyota Prius hybrids–crashed because of this unintended acceleration.

The most infamous example involves a man whose “runaway Prius” had to be stopped by a California Highway Patrol car. The whole saga made no sense, and the conclusion many came to was that this was a hoax. I’m not 100% sure it’s clear what happened in California with this Mustang Mach-E, but the Internet seems to have quickly jumped to explanations that don’t make any sense when you watch the harrowing video (The original appears to be here on TikTok):

As you can see in the YouTube video above, a green electric Mach-E is scraping itself along the side of a jersey barrier near San Carlos, California, yesterday. The man inside, instead of trying to stop the car, appears to be praying. Once the barrier ends, the car quickly turns itself into a Mitsubishi Mirage and flips it.

The video has since gone viral, and the implication seems to be that the car malfunctioned.

The caption is “Electric Ford malfunctions, leaving the driver with no option but to pray behind the wheel.”

I have many issues with this characterization, which implies a lot that can’t be determined from this video. There are also stories being posted that imply the car couldn’t stop, when it’s not 100% clear that this is happening. I’ve driven vehicles equipped with BlueCruise, which is Ford’s advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), and it’s usually quick to hand control over to the driver in the case of any minute confusion on the part of the car as to what’s happening. The fact that the vehicle is crashing into the barrier implies to me that the vehicle is likely not in BlueCruise mode. This isn’t to say the technology is perfect. NHTSA did launch a probe into BlueCruise, but that was related to its ability to detect stationary objects.

Is it possible that the vehicle is merely accelerating out of control? Again, there hasn’t been a full investigation, so I can’t be sure. However, the Mach-E’s brakes are not brake-by-wire, which is to say that there is a physical connection between the brake pedal and the vehicle’s brakes. Even if the car was trying to accelerate, the brakes should work. The possibility of a new vehicle’s brakes failing while the rest of the car’s many safety systems fail simultaneously seems low.

Additionally, once the car collides with the Mirage, the vehicle that was allegedly accelerating out of control mysteriously stops accelerating. How is that possible?

Finally, the praying thing is strange. The “no option but to pray” ignores the many, many God-given options a person in this situation has. Besides using the actual brakes and steering wheel with his clearly functioning hands, he could attempt to turn the car off, throw it in neutral, or do literally anything else.

So what happened? The local CHP office, which investigated the crash, had a simple explanation in their statement:

DRIVER ARRESTED FOR DUI AFTER COMMUTE HOUR CRASH

(SAN CARLOS, Calif.)- The California Highway Patrol (CHP) – Redwood City Area is aware of a video recently shared on social media by a passing motorist. We appreciate the public’s interest and want to provide accurate information and context regarding the incident.

On August 13, 2025, at approximately 1:08 p.m., officers assigned to the CHP Redwood City Area office were dispatched to a two-vehicle crash on US-101 southbound, south of Holly Street, in San Carlos. The preliminary investigation indicates the driver of a green Ford Mustang Mach E, crashed into a red Mitsubishi Mirage then collided with the right shoulder wall near the Holly Street overcrossing. Through our investigation, we determined the vehicle was not operating in autonomous mode and CHP officers arrested the driver on suspicion of driving under the influence, resulting in injuries to another.

While we understand public interest in such incidents, video clips may not capture the complete context or investigative process. The CHP conducts each investigation thoroughly, professionally, and in accordance with the law. We thank the community for its concern and remind motorist to report dangerous driving by calling 9-1-1.

The Mission of the California Highway Patrol is to provide the highest level of Safety, Service, and Security.

The police allege that the man was under the influence, which seems like the simplest answer here. It’s possible the car did have an issue (the CHP merely states the vehicle wasn’t in autonomous mode) and the driver just panicked. It’s also possible he was merely out of his mind.

Whatever the full reason, because of the way that the Internet is constructed, I saw a dozen videos claiming it was a failure of autopilot (not offered on this car) or that Ford should be sued. What I didn’t see was any post that took the 60-second step of trying to find out any context. Will there be a bunch of viral videos with the police statement to follow? I’m guessing not.