Tempe, Ariz.
Self-driving fatality: Uber suspended all tests of its self-driving cars this week after one of its autonomous vehicles struck and killed a woman in Tempe— marking the first known pedestrian fatality from a driverless vehicle. A preliminary investigation seemed to indicate that the Uber car wasn’t at fault, said Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir. The Volvo SUV, which had an emergency backup driver behind the wheel, was traveling down a dimly lit road in autonomous mode when Elaine Herzberg, 49—who police believe may have been homeless—allegedly stepped suddenly into the road and tried to cross outside a designated crosswalk. “The driver said it was like a flash, the person walked out in front of them,” said Moir. “It’s very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode.” Police added that the vehicle was traveling at 38 mph in a 45 mph zone and made no attempt to brake.