New video shows self-driving Uber before fatally crashing into pedestrian

Exterior and interview views show the moments before the fatal crash.
 By 
Sasha Lekach
 on 

Warning: The video below contains footage which some readers may find disturbing.

Police released a video Wednesday of the self-driving Uber vehicle that struck and killed a woman Sunday night in Tempe, Arizona.

The video, below, shows Uber's self-driving vehicle's exterior view right before the crash. A quick glimpse of the woman killed, 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, walking her bike can be seen. The moment she was hit is not shown because of what Tempe police called "the graphic nature of the impact."

The video then shows an inside view of the operator -- identified as 44-year-old Rafael Vasquez -- sitting behind the driver's seat, looking around and down, and then abruptly opening his mouth and eyes wide in what looks like surprise and shock as the car hits the woman.

Police said the Volvo XC90 was in autonomous mode while traveling close to 40 mph in a 35 mph zone. The woman, who is believed to have been homeless, was apparently walking outside the crosswalk mid-block when she was struck.

Uber is cooperating with the police and National Transportation Safety Board investigations. Its self-driving car programs in Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Toronto, and the Phoenix area remain suspended. After the crash, a company spokesperson said, “Our hearts go out to the victim’s family. We are fully cooperating with authorities in their investigation of this incident.”

Police said they plan to submit the case to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. Mashable has reached out to Uber for comment on the video, and we’ll update if and when we hear back.

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Sasha Lekach

Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.

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