Parents Of San Francisco Girl Fatally Struck By Uber Driver Seek Stricter Ridesharing Rules
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— The parents of a six-year-old girl who was killed by an Uber driver in San Francisco on New Year's Eve are urging state lawmakers to require app-based ride services to carry commercial insurance. A bill to compromise that very issue is getting another hearing before a State Senate committee on Wednesday.
The political fight over whether Uber and Lyft should have to insure their drivers was sparked by the death of Sofia Liu, the little girl who was struck by an Uber driver while crossing the street with her mom and brother in San Francisco's Tenderloin.
Ang Jiang Liu, Sofia's mother, spoke at a news conference at the state Capitol, in support of the bill:
"I saw the driver looking down. His face was lit up by the light of his phone. That was the last thing I remember before my daughter was killed,"
Uber said it had no liability for that crash and it opposes this legislation. Traditional taxi drivers are opposed as well, because they say the law doesn't go far enough. They want the ride-on-demand car companies to be required to carry commercial insurance fulltime, just as they do.
While this bill only requires that drivers be covered by the companies from when they turn on the Uber or Lyft app, to when they turn it off. It's being heard by the Senate Insurance Committee, which is likely to send it on to the full Senate.