Uber deemed not criminally liable in Arizona self-driving car death

Its been revealed that Uber have escaped criminal charges over the death of Elaine Herzberg after she was struck by a self-driving car which was being tested by the ride-hailing giant.

However, according to a BBC report the back-up driver who was in the test vehicle could still face prosecution.

Despite a police report which had described the incident "entirely avoidable", Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Sullivan Polk stated in a letter that after reviewing all of the evidence there are no grounds to prosecute Uber over criminal liability.

The crash, which occurred involved a Volvo XC90 that Uber had been using to test its self-driving technology.

Elaine Herzberg, 49, was struck by the vehicle in March 2018 after she had attempted to cross a multi-lane stretch of road.

Dash-cam footage from the vehicle appeared to show the vehicle's back-up driver, Rafaela Vasquez, taking her eyes off the road, with the suggestion that she may have been watching TV at the time of the crash.

With this factor in mind, the Attorney's office have recommended an expert analysis of the video.

Arizona authorities subsequently blocked Uber from testing self-driving technology on the states roads following the accident, and Uber themselves suspended testing, however, Uber have now resumed testing their self-driving technology in Pennsylvania.