No Criminal Liability for Uber in Fatal 2018 Arizona Self-Driving Car Crash
The Yavapai County Attorney said in a letter made public that there was no basis for criminal liability for Uber, but that the conduct of the back-up driver, Rafael Vasquez, should be referred to the police for additional investigation.
Police said last year that Vasquez was streaming a television show on a phone until about the time of the crash and called the incident “entirely avoidable.”
An Uber spokeswoman declined to comment.
Vasquez, who could face charges of vehicular manslaughter, has not commented.
Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Sullivan Polk said its investigation concluded that “the collision video, as it displays, likely does not accurately depict the events that occurred.”
She said expert analysis is needed to match what the person sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle would or should have seen that night given the vehicle’s speed, conditions and other relevant factors. The National Transportation Safety Board and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are still investigating the fatal crash.
The Uber car was in autonomous mode at the time of the crash, but the company requires a back-up driver inside to intervene when the system fails or a tricky situation occurs.
The Tempe police report said Vasquez repeatedly looked down and not at the road, glancing up a half second before the car hit Elaine Herzberg, 49, who was crossing the street at night. Police obtained records from online steaming service Hulu showing Vasquez’s account was playing the TV talent show “The Voice” for about 42 minutes on the night of the crash, which “coincides with the approximate time of the collision.”