The Latest: Uber cancels media event following fatal crash
TEMPE, Ariz. — The Latest on the pedestrian death involving a self-driving vehicle in Tempe (all times local):
4:05 p.m.
Uber has postponed a show-and-tell of its self-driving vehicles after one was involved in a deadly crash in Arizona.
Uber had planned a media event Thursday at its Tempe facility to show off its fleet, offer rides, and have engineers talk about the push to have vehicles operate on their own.
Uber has been testing the self-driving vehicles in Arizona for months.
Police say one of them hit and killed 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg late Sunday as she stepped on to the street. Police say neither she nor the vehicle’s backup driver showed signs of impairment.
Uber spokeswoman Stephanie Sedlak says the media event will be held at a later date.
3:35 p.m.
An Uber self-driving test vehicle was travelling around 40 mph when it struck and killed a woman late Sunday in a Phoenix suburb.
The death of 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg is believed to be the first known fatality by a self-driving test vehicle.
Tempe police Sgt. Ronald Elcock said Monday the agency hasn’t drawn any conclusions about who is at fault.
He says Herzberg was struck immediately as she stepped on to the street outside of a crosswalk while walking a bicycle. He says neither Herzberg nor the man behind the wheel monitoring the vehicle showed signs of impairment.
The vehicle was in autonomous mode, meaning its computers and sensors were driving but the human can intervene.
Elcock says the investigation is in the early stages and will be aided by video footage of the scene.
2:10 p.m.
A woman who was hit and killed by an Uber self-driving vehicle was walking a bicycle across a suburban Phoenix street.
Television video footage showed a bicycle with a twisted front wheel lying on a Tempe sidewalk, with the Uber vehicle nearby.
Tempe police say the crash involving an Uber SUV happened Sunday night in the first known fatality by a self-driving test vehicle.
They say 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg wasn’t in a crosswalk when she was hit. She later died at a hospital.
Federal investigators were headed to Tempe on Monday to investigate. The agency says it will examine vehicle factors, human performance and electronic recorders.
11:50 a.m.
A woman who police say was hit and killed by an Uber self-driving vehicle has been identified as 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg. She is believed to be the first person killed by a self-driving vehicle.
Police in a Phoenix suburb says Herzberg had been walking outside of a crosswalk Sunday night when she was struck by the vehicle. She died from her injuries at a local hospital.
Uber suspended its self-driving tests in a handful of cities Monday following the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board has sent a small team to Tempe to investigate what happened.
Uber expressed condolences to Herzberg’s family and says it is working with local law enforcement on the investigation.
10:35 a.m.
Uber says it has suspended all of its self-driving testing following what is believed to be the first fatal pedestrian crash involving the vehicles.
The self-driving testing has been taking place in Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto.
Automakers and tech companies are competing to be first with the technology.
Police in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe say one of Uber’s self-driving vehicles struck and killed a pedestrian on Sunday night.
Investigators say the vehicle was in autonomous mode with an operator behind the wheel when the woman walking outside of a crosswalk was hit.
The woman died of her injuries at a hospital.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi expressed condolences on his Twitter account the company is working with local law enforcement on the investigation.
10:15 a.m.
Police in a Phoenix suburb say one of Uber’s self-driving vehicles has struck and killed a pedestrian.
Police in the city of Tempe said Monday that the vehicle was in autonomous mode with an operator behind the wheel when the woman walking outside of a crosswalk was hit.
Sgt. Ronald Elcock says in an email that the crash happened overnight but did not say whether it occurred Sunday night or Monday morning.
The woman died of her injuries at a hospital and her name was not made public.
Uber has been testing the self-driving vehicles in Tempe and Phoenix for months.
Uber says on Twitter that it is “fully co-operating” with the investigation and expressed condolences to the family of the victim.