Police in Tempe, Ariz., said evidence showed the safety driver behind the wheel of a self-driving Uber was distracted and streaming a TV show on her phone until about the time of a fatal accident in March, deeming the crash “entirely avoidable.”
A 318-page report from the Tempe Police Department, released on Thursday in response to a public records request, said the driver, Rafaela Vasquez, repeatedly looked down and not at the road, glancing up just a half second before the vehicle hit 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, who was crossing the street at night.
According to the report, Vasquez could face charges of vehicle manslaughter. Police said that, based on testing, the crash was “deemed entirely avoidable” if Vasquez had been paying attention.
Police obtained records from Hulu, an online service for streaming TV shows and movies, which showed Vasquez’s account was playing the TV talent show “The Voice” the night of the crash for about 42 minutes, ending at 9:59 p.m., which “coincides with the approximate time of the collision,” the report says.
It is unclear if Vasquez will be charged, and police submitted their findings to county prosecutors, who will make the determination. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office referred the case to the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office because of a conflict and that office could not be reached late Thursday.
Vasquez could not immediately be reached for comment and Reuters could not locate her attorney.
The Uber vehicle was in autonomous mode at the time of the crash, but Uber, like other self-driving vehicle developers, requires a backup driver in the vehicle to intervene when the autonomous system fails or a tricky driving situation occurs.
Vasquez looked up just 0.5 seconds before the crash, after keeping her head down for 5.3 seconds, the Tempe Police report said. Uber’s self-driving Volvo crossover was traveling at just under 44 mph.
Uber declined to comment.