Woman at wheel of self-drive death car an ex-con

THE OPERATOR OF a self-driving Uber vehicle that fatally struck a 49-year-old woman in Arizona served time in prison for attempted armed robbery, according to a report.

Rafaela Vasquez was at the wheel of the car, which was in auto mode, when it struck Elaine Herzberg as she was walking a bicycle outside the crosswalk in Tempe at 10 p.m. on Sunday. She died at a nearby hospital.

Vasquez, 44, was in prison for nearly four years for the attempted robbery conviction, the Arizona Republic reported.

An Uber spokesman said vehicle operators in Arizona undergo a screening process that checks local, state and national databases and meets local requirements by law. Uber said the vehicle operator met these requirements.

Tempe Police Sgt. Ronald Elcock said Monday the Uber vehicle was traveling around 40 mph when it hit Herzberg as she stepped onto the street.

Neither the operator nor the victim showed signs of impairment, according to Elcock.

He added that investigators haven’t drawn any conclusions about who is at fault.