Ride services company, Uber today suspended its autonomous vehicle programme after its self-driving sport utility vehicle, killed a woman on the street, in Arizona.

The 49 year-old woman was identified as Elaine Herzberg. She died from her injuries in a hospital, police said.

The accident in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe dealt a potential blow not only to Uber’s strategy but the eventual rollout of robot cars on public roads.

It was the first fatality from a self-driving vehicle.

The vehicles are being tested around the globe in a high-profile race by global automakers and tech companies expecting that autonomous vehicles will transform transportation and the ride services business.

The vehicle was in autonomous mode with an operator behind the wheel at the time of the accident, which occurred overnight Sunday to Monday, Tempe police said.

“The vehicle was traveling northbound … when a female walking outside of the crosswalk crossed the road from west to east when she was struck by the Uber vehicle,” police said in a statement.

Local television footage of the scene showed a crumpled bike and a Volvo XC90 SUV with a smashed-in front.

Read more: https://bah.com.ng/2018/03/19/uber-suspends-autonomous-vehicle-programme-after-suv-kills-us-woman/

Poor Innocent Woman, You Were Unfortunate To Be The First Victim Of Robotic Cars Technology. RIP