Arizona police release video of fatal collision with Uber self-driving SUV

Police releaseS few details about the accident that occurred Sunday night in Tempe, Arizona,

SAN FRANCISCO: Police in Arizona on Wednesday released a short video of a fatal collision between an Uber self-driving vehicle and a pedestrian, as an investigation continues into the accident that has put new focus on the safety of autonomous vehicles.

The video, taken from inside the Volvo sport utility vehicle that Uber has used for testing, shows the vehicle driving along a dark road when an image of a woman walking a bicycle across the road appears in the headlights.

The woman, Elaine Herzberg, 49, later died from her injuries.



Police have released few details about the accident that occurred Sunday night in Tempe, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, while the car was driving in autonomous mode. Uber suspended its self-driving testing in North America after the incident.

The video shows the vehicle travelling in the right-hand lane of a divided four-lane roadway. It is dark but the vehicle’s headlights are on. Suddenly, the headlights illuminate a woman directly in front of the car who is crossing the car’s lane with her bike.

A photo released by safety regulators on Tuesday of the vehicle showed that the impact occurred on the right side of the vehicle.

The video also shows the driver at the wheel, who appears to be looking down. Just before the video stops, the driver looks up and suddenly looks shocked.