Footage of the fatal crash involving a self-driving Uber vehicle and a pedestrian in Arizona was released Wednesday by local law enforcement.
According to the Tempe Police Department, 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg was killed at 10 p.m. on Sunday after walking in front of the Uber. The driver and the vehicle, which was operating autonomously at the time, failed to stop.
Tempe Police Vehicular Crimes Unit is actively investigating
the details of this incident that occurred on March 18th. We will provide updated information regarding the investigation once it is available. pic.twitter.com/2dVP72TziQ— Tempe Police (@TempePolice) March 21, 2018
“Tempe Police Vehicular Crimes Unit is actively investigating the details of this incident that occurred on March 18th,” Tempe police said on Twitter. “We will provide updated information regarding the investigation once it is available.”
The self-driving car, a Volvo XC90 sport utility vehicle, was said to be traveling at 40 miles per hour at the time of the accident – 5 miles under the speed limit.
Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir argued Monday that the accident may have been unavoidable given the circumstances surrounding the crash.
“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,” Moir told the San Francisco Chronicle.
The fatal crash is the first known of its kind involving a pedestrian and self-driving vehicle.
“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family,” Uber said on Twitter. “We’re fully cooperating with @TempePolice and local authorities as they investigate this incident.”
Our hearts go out to the victim’s family. We’re fully cooperating with @TempePolice and local authorities as they investigate this incident.
— Uber Comms (@Uber_Comms) March 19, 2018
Tempe police have thus far declined to place blame for the accident amid the ongoing investigation.
The US National Transportation Safety Board also began investigating the crash on Monday.
NTSB investigators in Tempe, Arizona, examine the Uber vehicle involved in Sunday’s fatal accident. pic.twitter.com/Zoj4GrnxCT
— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) March 20, 2018
Uber has since suspended its self-driving programs in Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto.
The company previously paused testing in Arizona for two days in 2017 after a crash involving one of its self-driving vehicles.
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