Uber Self-Driving Car Test Driver Pleads Guilty to Endangerment in Pedestrian Death Case
Rafaela Vasquez, the Uber test driver who was behind the wheel of a self-driving car when it struck and killed a pedestrian in 2018, has pleaded guilty to endangerment. The accident occurred in Tempe, Arizona, and marked the first known fatality involving a fully autonomous vehicle.
According to a National Transportation Safety Board investigation, Vasquez was watching television on her smartphone at the time of the incident, and she failed to intervene when the autonomous driving software of the Uber vehicle failed to avoid hitting Elaine Herzberg, 49, who was crossing the road.
The safety driver, employed by Uber, was responsible for monitoring the vehicle’s performance and taking control if necessary. However, the investigation revealed that Vasquez was looking away from the road for over a third of the trip. The board determined that the crash could have been prevented if the safety driver had been attentive, and it also cited Uber’s inadequate safety culture as a contributing factor.
As a result of the guilty plea, Vasquez has been sentenced to three years of supervised probation. The charge will be designated a misdemeanour upon successful completion of her sentence. She is also required to pay restitution to all victims, including the involved insurance companies.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell stated that determining an appropriate plea involved considering various factors, and the sentence imposed by the judge was based on mitigating and aggravating circumstances.
Uber reached a settlement with the family of Elaine Herzberg shortly after the accident, and the company did not face criminal charges. In December, Uber announced its plans to launch a fully driverless service in collaboration with Motional in 2023.
