Driverless Car Hits Pedestrian in San Francisco, Suffers Injuries

A woman was found trapped under a driverless car in downtown San Francisco on Monday evening, according to the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD).

The driverless car is operated by Cruise, one of the self-driving car companies operating in San Francisco as robotaxis available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The driverless cars are equipped with cameras that law enforcement can utilize in an investigation, but it doesn’t necessarily make the job any easier.

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“There was no driver and no passenger in the car to be able to tell us what happened,” SFFD spokesperson Justin Schorr told CNN.

Cruise spokesperson Navideh Forghani said a human-driven vehicle stuck the pedestrian while driving to the left of a Cruise autonomous vehicle.

“The initial impact was severe and launched the pedestrian directly in front of the AV,” Forghani told CNN. “The AV then braked aggressively to minimize the impact.”

The city approved the driverless cars in August, per The New York Times. The decision was greatly criticized for safety concerns by local officials over fears of potential road hazards.

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In addition to Cruise, there is another company that operates driverless vehicles in San Fransisco called Waymo, which is owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet.

The victim, who has not been named, is being treated at San Francisco General Hospital with “multiple life-threatening injuries,” Schorr told CNN.

“We are actively working with police to help identify the responsible driver,” Cruise tweeted.

(3/3) Our heartfelt concern and focus is the wellbeing of the person who was injured and we are actively working with police to help identify the responsible driver.

— cruise (@Cruise) October 3, 2023