Self-Driving Uber Car Kills Arizona Pedestrian

A pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona died after being hit by a self-driving car operated by Uber, The [...]

By Libby Birk

A pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona died after being hit by a self-driving car operated by Uber, The New York Times reports. The death appears to be the first of a pedestrian struck by an autonomous vehicle on public roads.

The Uber vehicle was in autonomous mode with a human driver at the wheel when it struck the woman who was crossing the street outside of a crosswalk, Tempe police said in a statement. The incident occurred overnight, although it's not clear whether it happened late Sunday night or early Monday morning.

The woman, who died of her injuries at a hospital, has not been publicly identified.

In a statement via Twitter, Uber said the company was "fully cooperating" with local authorities and expressed condolences to the family of the woman killed.

A spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board told CNBC it is investigating the accident.

Uber has been testing the self-driving vehicles in Tempe and Phoenix for months, the Associated Press reports.

The ride-share giant announced it is pausing self-driving car tests in all locations after the deadly accident. That means programs in San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Phoenix and Toronto will be temporarily shut down.

Last year, Uber suspended the same program after a different Arizona crash which did not result in any serious injuries.

The National Transportation Safety Board has studied accidents involving Tesla's autopilot technology, but those cars operate with different technology than what Uber was testing.

The company's self-driving car business has been embroiled in a lawsuit with Alphabet's Waymo for much of the past year. That case was recently settled under Uber's new leadership.

Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said the death was "incredibly sad news."

"We're thinking of the victim's family as we work with local law enforcement to understand what happened," he said in a tweet.

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