A woman in her 40s who was an Uber co-driver at the time has been found guilty in court in connection with a 2018 accident in which an Uber vehicle testing autonomous driving struck and killed a man in the United States.
Rafaela Vasquez, 49, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter for her role in the crash involving an Uber vehicle, was sentenced to three years of probation in Maricopa Superior Court, the Maricopa County, Arizona, U.S. Attorney’s Office said on Aug. 28 local time.
Rafaela Vasquez was a passenger in a Volvo XC90, an Uber vehicle testing autonomous driving, when she allegedly struck and killed Elaine Herzberg, who was crossing the road on a bicycle in Tempe, Arizona, in March 2018.
The accident marked the first fatality caused by a self-driving vehicle.
Vasquez’s lawyer argued that Uber should bear some responsibility for the accident because it was testing self-driving, but prosecutors did not charge the company.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also concluded in November 2019 that Vasquez’s failure to pay attention to the vehicle’s operation was the primary cause of the accident.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell emphasized that “no matter what technology is available to drivers, 먹튀검증 the safety of everyone on the road or in the car should always be the top priority.”