It is believed to be the first such fatality of its kind.
A woman has died after being hit by a self-driving Uber car in Arizona in what appears to be the first such instance of a pedestrian being struck by an autonomous vehicle on a public road.
As reported by local news outlet ABC 15, the Uber car was in autonomous mode with a human safety driver behind the wheel when the incident happened at around 10pm on Sunday evening.
It is believed that the vehicle was heading northbound at an intersection in Tempe, Arizona when a woman walking outside of the crosswalk was hit.
The woman later died from her injuries in hospital.
Uber released a short statement on Twitter on Monday afternoon, noting that they are “fully cooperating” with police.
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
Uber has suspended testing of all self-driving cars in Arizona, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto in the wake of the accident.
The incident comes almost a full year on since a self-driving Uber crashed during a similar test – also in Tempe, Arizona. No injuries were reported on that occasion.
