Woman behind wheel of self-driving Uber that killed Arizona pedestrian ‘was a convicted felon’
A CONVICTED armed robber was behind the wheel of a driverless Uber car which killed a mum-of-two in Arizona, it has been claimed.
Elaine Herzberg, 49, was hit by a speeding test car in “autonomous mode” with safety driver Rafaela Vasquez, 44, in the driver’s seat in case of an emergency.
Herzberg was was walking her bicycle across a road in Tempe, near Phoenix, at around 10pm local time on Sunday when she was struck by the Volvo 4×4 and died from her injuries in hospital.
The claimed that Vasquez had served four years behind bars for an armed robbery in July 2000 – but cops said neither she nor the car were at fault.
But police chief Sylvia Moir said: “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.
“It is dangerous to cross roadways in the evening hour when well-illuminated, managed crosswalks are available,” .
Asked what would happen if the driverless car was at fault, she replied: “This is really new ground we’re venturing into.”
Tempe Police Sergeant Ronald Elcock said he believed Herzberg, who has reportedly been married three times, may have been homeless.
Herzberg is also believed to have spent time in prison for minor crimes including drug offences.
Tempe police is looking into the crash alongside other national traffic bodies and Uber has suspended all testing of driverless cars as it “fully cooperates” with authorities.
The company’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, expressed condolences on his Twitter account and said the company is working with local law enforcement on the investigation.
Volvo confirmed one of its XC90 SUVs was involved in the crash but said the software controlling the car was not its own.
US federal safety regulators were sending teams to investigate the crash. Canada’s transportation ministry in Ontario, where Uber also conducts testing, said it was reviewing the accident.
US lawmakers have been debating legislation that would speed introduction of self-driving cars.
Democratic Senator Edward Markey, a member of the transportation committee, said in a statement:
“This tragic accident underscores why we need to be exceptionally cautious when testing and deploying autonomous vehicle technologies on public roads.”
Anthony Foxx, former US secretary of transportation, said the accident was a “wake up call to the entire industry and government to put a high priority on safety”.
Ms Herzberg’s death has sparked concerns over the safety of autonomous vehicles as they head towards more widespread use.
In the UK, Gatwick Airport is planning to test self-driving shuttle buses this summer.
Last year Uber boss Travis Kalanick said Uber was aiming to replace drivers with robots within four years.
But the program hit a setback when an autonomous Volvo SUV ended up on its side after a crash in Tempe.
No one was badly hurt in the crash last March but Uber pulled its test vehicles off the road before resuming trials later.
Google and Tesla are among other firms developing driverless cars, which could be on Britain’s motorways by 2021.
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