Man Claimed He Was Hit By A Tesla While Walking, Video Showed He Was Lying
By Bill Galluccio
September 7, 2021
A Louisana man was arrested after pretending to get hit by a Tesla in a busy gas station parking lot. Arthur Bates Jr., 47, called 911 last week and told police that the driver backed into him and then fled the scene.
Bates complained he suffered injuries to his back, leg, and neck, and an ambulance was dispatched to the scene to check on him. Slidell Police officers managed to track down the driver of the Tesla and learned that Bates had staged the incident.
The driver told officers that Bates jumped behind his car and fell to the ground. The driver got out to check on Bates and left the scene after realizing he was not seriously injured.
Luckily for the driver, the cameras on his Tesla recorded the entire incident. The Slidell Police Department posted the footage on Facebook, showing Bates staged the ordeal.
"Unbeknownst to Bates, Tesla's record all the footage of their cameras. When Slidell Police officers reviewed the Tesla's video footage, it became apparent that Bates was lying and staged the entire event," the department wrote.
**𝐀 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐥𝐚 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞** On Friday, September 3rd, Slidell Police arrested a man, for falsifying a police report, after he claimed to have been hit by a Tesla in a busy gas station parking lot. Around 4:00pm, Slidell Police responded to the 1400 block of Fremaux Avenue after a man called 911 to report he was injured, after being struck by a Tesla. The man, identified as 47-year-old, Arthur Bates Jr., told officers the Tesla backed into him, causing him to fall to the pavement, and that the driver then fled the scene. Bates was complaining of back, leg and neck injuries, resulting in an ambulance and fire truck to be dispatched to the location. Slidell Police officers later found the Tesla and spoke to the driver of the vehicle. The driver stated that Bates intentionally jumped behind his vehicle and staged the accident. Unbeknownst to Bates, Tesla’s record all the footage of their cameras. When Slidell Police officers reviewed the Tesla’s video footage, it became apparent that Bates was lying and staged the entire event. Bates subsequently admitted to fabricating the entire event and was arrested for L.R.S. 14:126.1 (False Swearing with the Intent to Cause an Emergency Response).
Posted by Slidell Police Department on Monday, September 6, 2021
Bates was taken into custody and he is facing one charge of False Swearing with the Intent to Cause an Emergency Response.