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On Sunday evening, a self-driving Uber car hit and killed a woman pedestrian who was crossing a road. The incident took place in Tempe, Arizona, which has become a hub for testing self-driving technology.
The victim of the mishap has been identified as 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg. She was taken to a local area hospital where she died.
In a tweet, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that the company is working with the local law enforcement.
Some incredibly sad news out of Arizona. We’re thinking of the victim’s family as we work with local law enforcement to understand what happened. twitter.com/uber_comms/sta…
As per the Tempe Police Department, the vehicle hit the pedestrian on Mill Avenue. At the time of the collision, the car was in the autonomous mode. However, a driver was also present behind the wheel, the police told Fortune.
As a result of this unfortunate incident, Uber has halted all its testing operations in Tempe, Pittsburg, Toronto, and San Fransisco.
While this incident will surely draw attention to the company’s testing methodology and self-driving tech in general, the police chief of Tempe has said that Uber is likely not at fault for the incident, as per San Fransisco Chronicle.
As per the initial probe and the video footage with at least two cameras mounted on the vehicle, the police has made the statement. “It’s very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode (autonomous or human-driven) based on how she came from the shadows right into the roadway,” chief said.
This incident follows the 2016 Tesla Autopilot accident that resulted in the death of the driver. As a result, Tesla made changes and opted for new hardware that disabled the ability to stop the car automatically in case of emergencies.
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