Uber Self-Driving Car Kills Woman in Arizona

March 19, 2018 — Uber has temporarily stopped testing self-driving cars in all U.S. cities after a fatal accident in which a pedestrian in Arizona was hit and killed as she crossed the street.

It is the first known pedestrian death involving a self-driving car.

Police said the woman was crossing outside of the designated crosswalk at about 10 p.m. when she was hit.

The Uber hit the pedestrian when it was in autonomous mode (“self-driving”) with a driver behind the wheel, but no passengers in the car.

Uber said it was “fully cooperating with local authorities.” In the meantime, Uber has temporarily halted testing of its self-driving cars in Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto.

Uber has been aggressively testing self-driving in Phoenix for a few years. The company also recently started testing the cars without a safety driver to oversee the ride.

Self-driving cars typically have a safety driver behind the wheel in case of an emergency. Some states require a safety driver — but not Arizona, which has been particularly welcoming to autonomous cars.

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