Photo: Arizona Department of Corrections
The backup driver of a self-driving Uber that fatally struck a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, in 2018 pleaded guilty to endangerment as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
Rafaela Vasquez was initially charged with negligent homicide in the case after the investigation revealed that she was watching television on her phone at the time of the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board's investigation also revealed that Vasquez, whose job was to monitor the car's performance and be ready to take over the wheel if any of the autonomous features stopped working, was looking away from the road for about one-third of the trip.
The investigation determined that the crash was "avoidable" if Vasquez had been paying attention to the road.
"Getting behind the wheel of a car is a serious responsibility. Regardless of whatever technology might be available to drivers, safety for everyone on the street and in the vehicle must always be a driver's first priority," Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a press release announcing the plea deal.
Vasquez was sentenced to three years of supervised probation and ordered to pay restitution to all of the victims, including the insurance companies.
While the NTSB report cited an inadequate safety culture at Uber and noted that the self-driving system wasn't designed to predict pedestrians crossing the street outside of a crosswalk, the ride-sharing company did not face criminal charges. However, the company did reach a settlement with the victim's family just a few weeks after the accident.