Love for Leslie

Leslie Cochran is out of the hospital and into hospice care

Leslie Cochran
Leslie Cochran/ Facebook
Photo by Brian Birzer

Leslie Cochran's health improved enough to move him out of the hospital and into a private hospice. On one hand that's great news for his legions of friends and fans. Still, he remains critically ill, and moving to hospice care, well... lets not read anything more into that.

He has remained alert and conscious since awaking from a two week coma last week.

"Consciousness, however, is not a sign of improvement in his overall health," said his friend Debbie Russell in an email. "He has challenges beyond his brain injuries, and Leslie is making his own choices right now about his future."

On February 16^thLeslie ended up in an ambulance after being found unconscious in a parking lot of South First. His health deteriorated and doctors performed brain surgery, Leslie's fourth in the last three years. After nearly two weeks in a coma, he awoke last week.

Russell says the outpouring of support and prayers has been overwhelming.

"Leslie is visibly pleased when told of all the good wishes people are sending him. He is now surrounded by several 'poster-cards' hung in his room, signed by many Austinites and city leaders (including the Mayor, council, police and fire chiefs) over the past several days."

If comments on CultureMap are any indication, Leslie is the most cared for homeless man in history:

Here's to you Leslie for keeping it weird."

"It was two weeks after I moved here that I met Leslie while checking out Eeyore's Birthday Bash. I always dreaded meeting him in person cause I though he must be nuts, but he shook my hand and we talked about what was going on with politics, school, and the economy. He's one of the strangest people Austin has to offer and I think the most curious thing about him is how not strange he can be."

"Sad to hear the best crossdressing Mayoral candidate Austin has ever had is gravely ill. He gave ATX major personality."

"I used to see Leslie all time in college on 6th. However, I was working at Lucy's in Disguise one fall and he sat right next to me while I was outside on South Congress having lunch. He was really nice and had some good stories to tell. I got a chance to know the guy a little bit and I hope that he recovers and gets the send off that he deserves. The saying "Keep Austin Weird" just seems ironic now, but Leslie was the embodiment of that saying."

"Hey everyone please be sure to keep Leslie in your prayers!"

"Leslie told me the trapper story one time and he's been planning to go back to Colorado for a while now... When I lived on Soco at 2020, he would come by for a beer every night a 10 sharp and hang out with my friends as he moved onward to Trophy's .... Such a good soul that Leslie! In my prayers!"

"PRAYERS GOING TO YOU LESLIE STAY STRONG WE LOVE YA!! GOD BLESS!"

A Facebook page, "Love for Leslie" is posting regular updates and a new website of the same name is adding remembrances and posting auctions for Leslie paintings. BookPeople also continues to collect donations. If you give $10 or more, you get a Leslie Refrigerator Magnet set.

The fundraisers will support Leslie's living expenses. Russell says his medical bills have been covered.

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Defensive Driving

Austin-based Tesla faces new probe focused on remote driving feature

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating 2.6 million Teslas.

Federal regulators have opened an investigation into 2.6 million Teslas after reports of crashes involving the use of company technology that allows drivers to remotely command their vehicle to return to them, or move to another location, using a phone app.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also said Tuesday, January 7 that Austin-based Tesla did not report any of the accidents. Tesla is under order to report crashes on “publicly accessible roads” involving vehicles being operated through its autonomous driving technology.

The new investigation follows another probe launched in October looking into the company's “Full Self-Driving” system after getting reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. That investigation covers 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

One driver filed a complaint after a crash while using Tesla's “Actually Smart Summon” technology and NHTSA is looking into another three similar incidents based on media reports, the NHTSA said. The agency is looking into 12 total incidents reported by users of the technology.

Each of the vehicles failed to detect posts and other parked vehicles, according to the NHTSA.

Regulators say the vehicles struck objects because the users had "too little reaction time to avoid a crash, either with the available line of sight or releasing the phone app button, which stops the vehicle’s movement.”

Shares of Tesla Inc. slid more than 4 percent in late afternoon trading Tuesday.

Musk has complained that U.S. regulations are too onerous and are holding back the development of self-driving cars. Ethics experts are worried that once President-elect Donald Trump takes office, Musk will push him to ease oversight of Tesla, which just suffered its first decline in annual sales in more than a decade.

Musk donated an estimated $250 million to Trump's presidential campaign and is a frequent guest at Trump's Mar-a-Lago, vetting cabinet nominees and meeting with foreign heads of state. Trump has put Musk in charge of an advisory group, the Department of Government Efficiency, that will recommend where to cut government expenses and staff at federal agencies and reduce regulation.

The NHTSA said it will look into the top speed that Teslas can reach when users deploy its “summons” technology, as well as restrictions on public roads and line of sights requirements. It also said it expects to check for any “connectivity delays" with the app that could result in increased stopping distance.

Tesla’s Model 3 owner’s manual says that its “summons” feature is designed for use only in parking lots and driveways on private property and is disabled on public roads.

The new probe covers 2016-2025 Model S and X vehicles, 2017-2025 Model 3, 2020-2025 Model Y equipped with Tesla's Full Self-Driving driver assistance system.

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