Uber’s self-driving car kills Arizona woman crossing the street; Uber halts autonomous-car testing

An Uber self-driving car hit and killed a 49-year old woman crossing the street in Tempe, Arizona, police said on Monday. This makes it the first fatality caused by an autonomous vehicle and a potential blow to the technology everyone expects to transform transportation. The woman, Elaine Herzberg, was crossing the road outside of a crosswalk when the Uber vehicle operating in autonomous mode under the supervision of a human safety driver struck her, according to the Tempe Police Department.

In response to the accident, Uber is halting autonomous further vehicle tests in all cities after one of its cars struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona.  The incident happened at 10 p.m. local time on Sunday. The lady she was admitted to a nearby hospital, where she died from her injuries. Liliana Duran, a Tempe police spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement :”Uber is assisting and this is still an active investigation.”

“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,” Uber CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi said in a tweet.

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. https://t.co/cwTCVJjEuz

— dara khosrowshahi (@dkhos) March 19, 2018

He went on to say: “Our hearts go out to the victim’s family. 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