An Uber self-driving car has hit and killed a woman crossing the street in Arizona, marking the first fatality caused by an autonomous vehicle and a potential blow to the technology expected to transform transportation.
The ride services company says it is suspending North American tests of its self-driving vehicles, which are currently going on in Arizona, Pittsburgh and Toronto.
So-called robot cars, when fully developed by companies including Uber, Alphabet and General Motors, are expected to drastically cut down on motor vehicle fatalities and create billion-dollar businesses. But Monday's accident underscored the possible challenges ahead for the promising technology as the cars confront real-world situations involving real people.
US politicians have been debating legislation that would speed introduction of self-driving cars.
"This tragic accident underscores why we need to be exceptionally cautious when testing and deploying autonomous vehicle technologies on public roads," said Democratic Senator Edward Markey, a member of the transportation committee, in a statement.
Elaine Herzberg, 49, was walking her bicycle outside the crosswalk on a four-lane road in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe about 10pm local time when she was struck by the Uber vehicle travelling at about 65 km/h, police say. The car was in autonomous mode with an operator behind the wheel.
Herzberg later died from her injuries in a hospital.
Local television footage of the scene showed a crumpled bike and a Volvo XC90 SUV with a smashed-in front. Herzberg was reportedly on foot walking her bike when she was hit.
Volvo, the Swedish car brand owned by China's Geely , confirmed its vehicle was involved in the crash but said the software controlling the SUV was not its own.
U.S. federal safety regulators were sending teams to investigate the crash. Canada's transportation ministry in Ontario, where Uber conducts testing, also said it was reviewing the accident.
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