Rafaela Vasquez, the woman who was operating a self-driving Uber that hit and killed a pedestrian crossing

Photo Credit: New York Post

Mill Avenue in March 2018 is has pled guilty and has been sentenced to three years of supervised probation and determined that the charge would only be designated a misdemeanor upon successful completion of her sentence.

As reported by All About Arizona News in 2020, Vasquez was watching “The Voice” television program on one of her two phones when the Volvo SUV she was operating struck and killed 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, according to a report from Tempe police. Herzberg was crossing Mill just south of Curry Road and was outside of the crosswalk. It was the first pedestrian fatality involving a self-driving vehicle in the country.

“The defendant in this matter was responsible for the operation of a vehicle on our city streets that ended with a woman being killed,” stated Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “Determining an appropriate plea in this case involved considering a multitude of factors. We believe the Judge ordered an appropriate sentence based on the mitigating and aggravating factors.”

Mitchell went on to say, “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.”

The New York Post reported in 2018, that Vasquez had served three years and 10 months in prison for convictions on attempted armed robbery and unsworn falsification. She was released in 2005. Uber did not comment on their driver’s conviction and incarceration, nor on Uber’s company’s hiring policies.