Tempe Police releases Uber’s car camera footage of the fatal incident killing a 49 year old woman

Tempe, Arizona Police have released a 22 seconds video clip (below) recorded via Uber’s embedded front and interior cameras of the fatal collision hitting a 49 year old woman.

First half of the video shows us the outer view of the vehicle reportedly traveling at 38 mph (61 km/h) which cuts just at the instant of collision — the other half of the video shows the safety driver present behind the steering wheel.

The self-driving vehicle involved in the accident is a 2017 Volvo XC 90 according to Fox News report. Uber’s CEO described the incident as “incredibly sad” in his official statement on Twitter in response to the heartening event.

Tempe Police also release an official statement with the video tweet as;

Tempe Police Vehicular Crimes Unit is actively investigating the details of this incident that occurred on March 18th. We will provide updated information regarding the investigation once it is available.

As we can see clearly that the safety drvier — 44-year-old Rafaela Vasquez — is distracted by looking downwards before the collision and looked forward instants before the crash but the situation was out of control until then.

Also it appears with the camera footage that the victim appeared from out of nowhere at this dark hour but the real vision might have been clearer as compared to the camera.

“The driver said it was like a flash, the person walked out in front of them,” Sylvia Moir, Tempe police chief, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “It would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode,” she added.

Uber has halted their self-driving testing operation in Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto following the event.

According to Uber’s official statement they are fully cooperating with the Tempe Police and a federal team from National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is also looking into the matter.

What you think who is to blame — the 49 year old woman crossing a busy street at nigh, the self driving software on the vehicle or the safety driver present in the vehicle to tackle such a situation? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.