The San Francisco Police Department is currently investigating an incident that occurred on October 2nd, where a woman was hit by a human-driven vehicle and then run over by a Cruise robotaxi. The incident was captured on video by Cruise and viewed by TechCrunch.
According to the video footage, the robotaxi can be seen braking before running over the pedestrian, who was lying in the street after being struck by the human-driven vehicle. Cruise has stated that the driver of the vehicle that initially hit the pedestrian fled the scene. The company claims that the robotaxi braked aggressively to minimize the impact, but the pedestrian was still run over and stuck under the vehicle.
The video shows a Cruise vehicle stopped at a traffic light and proceeding once it turned green. Another vehicle in the left lane can be seen accelerating through the intersection, hitting the pedestrian who was crossing the street. The pedestrian flew over the front hood, onto the roof of the vehicle, and then down the right side before falling into the street. The pedestrian landed in the lane where the Cruise robotaxi was.
The San Francisco Police Department is still investigating the matter. The autonomous vehicle remained on the scene, but there was no occupant at the time of the collision. Cruise has been cooperating with the investigation. The police believe that another vehicle, which was not autonomous, may have been initially involved in the collision. However, that vehicle and its driver were not present at the scene during the police investigation.
This incident adds to a series of crashes and incidents involving Cruise operations in San Francisco, including blocking traffic and driving into wet cement. Cruise’s account suggests that the company may not be at fault for the initial impact. Further investigation will determine if the autonomous vehicle could have avoided the pedestrian.
While determining blame may be important, this incident comes at a critical time for Cruise as the company tries to scale robotaxi operations in San Francisco and expand its services to more U.S. cities. Cruise and Waymo recently received approval to expand their commercial operations in San Francisco, allowing them to operate 24/7 and charge for rides throughout the city.
This article is based on information from TechCrunch and the San Francisco Police Department.
Sources:
– TechCrunch
– San Francisco Police Department