Driverless car ‘not at fault’ for crash that killed mother
A SELF-DRIVING car that killed a woman pedestrian was probably not to blame for the crash, police said yesterday.
Mother Elaine Herzberg, 49, was trying to cross the road when she stepped in front of the vehicle.
Detectives said taxi firm Uber, which was testing the car, would “likely not be at fault” for the accident, thought to be the first fatal crash between an autonomous vehicle and a pedestrian.
The 4x4 was travelling at 38mph in a 35mph zone and made no attempt to break, police said.
Back-up driver Raphael Vasquez, 44, who was in the car at the time of the crash in Tempe, Arizona, on Sunday, is still under investigation
Police chief Sylvia Moir said: “It’s very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode based on how she came from the shadows right into the roadway. The driver said it was like a flash, the person walked out in front of them. His first alert was the sound of the collision.”
The Volvo SUV had at least two video cameras, one facing forward and the other on the “safety driver”. Ms Moir added: “It appears that the Uber would likely not be at fault in this accident.” She said she wouldn’t rule out the potential to file charges against the back-up driver.
Ms Herzberg, who was pushing her bicycle when she was hit, is believed to have been married three times and had two children. Friend Deniel Klapthor said: “She and her husband split up recently and she was trying to get her life back.”
An Uber statement said: “Our hearts go out to the victim’s family. We are fully cooperating with local authorities in their investigation.”
Uber has been lobbying politicians in the US to speed up the introduction of driverless cars.
But Raj Rajkumar, head of Carnegie Mellon University’s selfdriving car laboratory, said: “People can get killed. The technology is not there yet.”
Senator Edward Markey said: “This tragic accident underscores why we need to be cautious when testing and deploying autonomous vehicle technologies on public roads.”