Arizona Prosecutor Clears Uber of Criminal Liability in Fatal Self-Driving Crash
An Arizona prosecutor rules that Uber holds no criminal responsibility for the 2018 death of a pedestrian struck by one of its autonomous test vehicles. The decision follows a thorough review of the evidence surrounding the tragic incident in Tempe.
An Arizona prosecutor determines that Uber is not criminally liable for the death of Elaine Herzberg, a pedestrian struck by a self-driving test vehicle in Tempe in 2018. The Yavapai County Attorney's Office reviews the evidence thoroughly and concludes there is no basis for criminal charges against the corporation. The case transfers to Yavapai County to avoid a potential conflict of interest in Maricopa County.
Herzberg walks her bicycle across the road at night when the Uber SUV, operating in computer control mode with a human backup driver inside, fatally hits her. According to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board, the self-driving system identifies the pedestrian as an unknown object, then a vehicle, and finally a bicycle in the six seconds before impact. However, the system is programmed to not activate emergency braking on its own and instead relies entirely on the human operator to intervene.
The backup driver steers less than a second before the crash and applies the brakes only after the vehicle impacts Herzberg. Because the autonomous system disables its own emergency braking feature and fails to alert the driver to the impending collision, the tragedy raises serious ongoing questions about the safety protocols of self-driving technology. Despite these systemic failures, the prosecutor's letter officially closes the door on criminal charges for the ride-sharing company in this specific case.