Ride-hailing Uber has been found not criminally liable in the death of 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, who tragically became the first known pedestrian to be killed by a self-driving vehicle when she was struck by an Uber test SUV in Tempe, Arizona in March 2018.
Ride-hailing Uber has been found not criminally liable in the death of 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, who tragically became the first known pedestrian to be killed by a self-driving vehicle when she was struck by an Uber test SUV in Tempe, Arizona in March 2018.
Per Quartz, Yavapai County attorney Sheila Sullivan Polk—the official handling the investigation after the Maricopa County attorney’s office recused itself for having coordinated an anti-drunk driving campaign with Uber—wrote in a brief letter dated March 4 that her office had found “no basis for criminal liability for the Uber corporation.” She added, however, that there remain unresolved questions about what the driver would have been able to see before the crash:
It was never really clear what would have happened if Uber was found criminally liable under state law, which would be unusual, according to Law & Crime:
Polk did not elaborate on her reasoning in the letter, but did add that since it has determined Uber cannot be held criminally liable in the incident, Maricopa County officials are now free to investigate whether the operator was negligent.
