Police: Uber Driver Was Streaming Hulu Before Deadly Self-Driving Crash
TEMPE, Ariz. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New information has been released about the fatal self-driving Uber crash back in March.
A new police report claims the safety driver behind the wheel when a self-driving Uber killed a woman was watching Hulu on her phone.
Tempe, Arizona police say records from Hulu show Rafaela Vasquez was streaming "The Voice" moments before the car struck and killed 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg.
Video from inside the car shows Vasquez looking down just before striking the woman.
It was the first fatal crash involving a self-driving vehicle.
Prosecutors are considering charges against Vasquez.
The National Transportation Safety Board, in a preliminary report issued last month, said the autonomous driving system on Uber's Volvo XC-90 SUV spotted Herzberg about six seconds before hitting her, but did not stop because the system used to automatically apply brakes in potentially dangerous situations had been disabled.
The system is disabled while Uber's autonomous cars are under computer control, "to reduce the potential for erratic vehicle behavior," the NTSB report said. Instead of the system, Uber relies on the human backup driver to intervene, the report stated. But the system is not designed to alert the driver.
After the crash, the ride-hailing company said it did a top-to-bottom safety evaluation, reviewing internal processes and safety culture. Uber also said it brought in former transportation safety board chairman Christopher Hart to advise the company on safety.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
