• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechUber Technologies

Uber Settles With Family of Victim Killed in Self-Driving Car Accident

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 29, 2018, 2:54 PM ET

Uber has settled with the family of a pedestrian who was killed when one of the company’s self-driving cars hit her while she crossed a road in Tempe, Ariz. earlier this month.

A lawyer representing the family of the deceased victim, Elaine Herzberg, told Reuters on Thursday that “the matter has been resolved,” but she did not reveal the settlement’s terms.

An Uber spokesperson declined to comment to Fortune about the settlement.

Herzberg was struck by one of Uber’s autonomous vehicles on the night of March 18 as she crossed a busy street while pushing her bicycle. Although a human driver was inside the self-driving car as a precautionary measure, a video of the accident shows the driver looking down until seconds before Herzberg appeared in front of the car, illuminated by the vehicle’s headlights.

Local police told Fortune that the car was operating in autonomous mode when the accident occurred.

The accident is believed to be the first fatality involving a self-driving vehicle, an area in which several big companies like Alphabet (GOOG) subsidiary Waymo and General Motors (GM) are heavily investing.

After the accident, Uber paused all of its self-driving vehicle tests, including in California, where the online ride-hailing company is based.

Some incredibly sad news out of Arizona. We’re thinking of the victim’s family as we work with local law enforcement to understand what happened. https://t.co/cwTCVJjEuz

— dara khosrowshahi (@dkhos) March 19, 2018

By avoiding any future civil litigation over the accident, Uber has dodged the possibility of the courts establishing a legal precedent over liability in autonomous vehicle accidents.

A recent New York Times article highlighted problems with Uber’s self-driving car program, in which human drivers were more likely to take control of the autonomous cars during tests compared to rival companies.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Additionally, a Reuters report published earlier this week revealed that Uber removed the number of lidar sensors from its newer fleet of self-driving cars. These sensor are used to help the cars “see” objects in the road, and reducing the number of sensors could have created more blind spots than Uber’s earlier test fleets as well as those of its rivals, the report said.

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
C-Suite
OpenAI’s Sam Altman says his highly disciplined daily routine has ‘fallen to crap’—and now unwinds on weekends at a ranch with no cell phone service
By Jacqueline MunisFebruary 5, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Meet the Palm Beach billionaire who paid $2 million for a private White House visit with Trump
By Tristan BoveFebruary 3, 2026
4 days ago
placeholder alt text
Travel & Leisure
How Japan replaced France as the country young Americans obsessively romanticize—they’re longing for civility they don’t see at home
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 5, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
After decades in the music industry, Pharrell Williams admits he never stops working: ‘If you do what you love everyday, you’ll get paid for free'
By Emma BurleighFebruary 3, 2026
4 days ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Ray Dalio warns the world is ‘on the brink’ of a capital war of weaponizing money—and gold is the best way for people to protect themselves
By Sasha RogelbergFebruary 4, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Crypto
Bitcoin whales and ETFs are baling out of the market; UBS warns: ‘Crypto is not an asset’
By Jim EdwardsFebruary 6, 2026
18 hours ago

Latest in Tech

CEO and co-founder of Anthropic Dario Amodei speaking on stage.
AIAnthropic
Anthropic’s newest model excels at finding security vulnerabilities—but raises fresh cybersecurity risks
By Beatrice NolanFebruary 6, 2026
9 hours ago
Arts & EntertainmentSuper Bowl
Many 2026 Super Bowl ads share a common theme, revealing a truth about America’s current mindset
By Mae Anderson and The Associated PressFebruary 6, 2026
11 hours ago
Cybersecuritydeepfakes
In the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mom, AI deepfakes add to the mystery
By Barbara Ortutay, Ed White and The Associated PressFebruary 6, 2026
11 hours ago
Google data center
Big TechData centers
Big Tech’s $630 billion AI spree now rivals Sweden’s economy, unsettling investors: ‘We’ve never invested this much on anything before’
By Jake AngeloFebruary 6, 2026
11 hours ago
AISocial Network
Moltbook, the Reddit for bots, alarms the tech world as agents start their own religion and plot to overthrow humans
By Kaitlyn Huamani and The Associated PressFebruary 6, 2026
11 hours ago
AISpaceX
Musk predicts more AI capacity will be in orbit than on earth in 5 years, with SpaceX becoming a ‘hyper-hyper’ scaler
By Jason MaFebruary 6, 2026
11 hours ago