San Francisco: A woman crossing a street was killed by an Uber self-driving sport utility vehicle in Arizona, police said on Monday, leading the ride services company to suspend its autonomous vehicle program across the United States and Canada.
Uber has halted testing of its autonomous vehicles, the company announced, after a woman was struck and killed by one of its self-driving cars.
The moratorium on testing includes San Francisco, Phoenix, Pittsburgh and Toronto, Uber said.
The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation into the crash, said Eric Weiss, a spokesman for the NTSB.
“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family. We are fully cooperating with local authorities in their investigation of this incident,” a company spokeswoman said. - UBER
The accident in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe marked the first fatality from a self-driving vehicle, which are being tested around the globe, and could derail efforts to fast-track the introduction of the new technology.
Uber's statement
“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family. We are fully cooperating with local authorities in their investigation of this incident,” a company spokeswoman said.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a tweet that the company was working to learn what went wrong.
“Some incredibly sad news out of Arizona,” he said. “We’re thinking of the victim’s family as we work with local law enforcement to understand what happened.”
Autonomous mode
The vehicle was in autonomous mode with an operator behind the wheel at the time of the accident, which occurred overnight Sunday to Monday, Tempe police said.
“The vehicle was traveling northbound ... when a female walking outside of the crosswalk crossed the road from west to east when she was struck by the Uber vehicle,” police said in a statement.
The woman later died from her injuries in a hospital, police said. Her name has not been released because her next of kin had not yet been notified, police said. Tempe police could not immediately be reached for further comment.
The city is 11 miles (18 km) east of Phoenix.
The vehicle involved in the accident was a Volvo, a person familiar with the matter said. Local television footage of the scene showed a crumpled bike and a Volvo XC90 SUV with a smashed-in front.
The vehicle involved in the accident was a Volvo, a person familiar with the matter said. Local television footage of the scene showed a crumpled bike and a Volvo XC90 SUV with a smashed-in front. The Swedish brand is owned by China's Geely
An Uber Technologies Inc spokesman said the company was suspending North American tests of its self-driving vehicles. In a tweet, Uber expressed its condolences and said the San Francisco company was fully cooperating with authorities.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said they were sending investigative teams to probe the crash. NHTSA also said it was in contact with Volvo.
The Swedish car brand is owned by China’s Geely.
