Uber Self-Driving Car In Tempe Strikes, Kills Pedestrian

TEMPE, AZ – A woman was struck and killed by a self-driving Uber early on Monday morning. It happened at Mill Avenue by Curry Road.

Tempe Police say they do not believe that the woman was in the crosswalk at the time. She was rushed to the hospital where she died.

She has been identified as 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg of Mesa. Herzberg was walking a bicycle across the street at the time that she was hit.

Tempe police that the car was going 40 mph and showed no signs of slowing down.

While the car was in self-driving – or autonomous – mode, it did have a human driver along as a backup. That woman has been identified as 44-year-old Rafaela Vasquez.

Neither Vasquez nor Herzberg showed signs of impairment.

The National Transportation Safety Board announced on Twitter that they are sending a team to Tempe to investigate the crash.

Uber is cooperating with police to figure out what went wrong.

"Our hearts go out to the victim's family," Uber said in a statement. "We're fully cooperating with Tempe Police and local authorities as they investigate this incident."

It is the first known instance of one of Uber's driverless cars striking a pedestrian. The company also has the vehicles operating in several other cities including San Francisco and Pittsburgh.

Uber added that they are suspending the use of all self-driving cars while the investigation is underway.

Phoenix and the surrounding area has become a testing ground for so-called autonomous vehicles with Uber, Waymo, and other companies operating here.

The company started testing the cars in Arizona in February 2017. The following month, one was involved in a crash. It was determined the self-driving car was not at fault. Another car had failed to yield.

This story will be updated as information becomes available.

Image via ShutterStock.