Backup Uber Driver Charged With Homicide In Self-Driving Car Crash in Tempe

The woman who was the backup driver in a self-driving Uber vehicle was charged with negligent homicide for a 2018 crash that killed a woman in Tempe.

Rafaela Vasquez, 46, was charged on August 27, but she entered a not guilty plea in a Maricopa County courtroom on Tuesday. Vasquez was in the converted Volvo SUV when it hit and killed Elaine Herzber, 49, on March 18, 2018.

Herzber was walking her bike across the street when the crash happened but not at a crosswalk. The autonomous detected Herzber 5.6 seconds before the crash but didn't apply the breaks before hitting her, CNBC reported.

County attorney Allister Adel called the case an issue of distracted driving in a statement. Vasquez wasn't paying attention to the road because she was watching the tv show "The Voice" on her phone at the time of the crash, according to an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. Even though the SUV was self driving, Uber "disconnected the Volvo's factory-installed crash avoidance system" so the vehicle needed a human driver to take control in case of emergency, the Phoenix New Times reported.

Uber wasn't charged in the crash.

Herzber's death gained international attention because it was one of the first crashes caused by a self driving vehicle. At the time, Uber was testing their self-driving technology in Arizona and other states. After the crash, Governor Doug Ducey made the company stop testing in Arizona.

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