Driverless Car Traps Woman in San Francisco

The victim of a hit-and-run driver was run over for a second time by a driverless "robotaxi" that stopped on top of her, leaving her pinned to the ground, according to witnesses.

The victim was reportedly first struck by a regular car that threw her into the path of an unmanned vehicle, which then also ran over her in San Francisco at around 9:30 p.m. on Monday night. The driverless taxi, which had braked sharply, reportedly then remained in position, effectively parking on top of the victim as she screamed in agony. She remained in hospital in critical condition on Tuesday.

News of the accident, which happened at the junction of Market and Fifth Streets, comes amid increasing fears about driverless cars hitting the nation's roads. The issue has already proved divisive in San Francisco, even before Monday's incident.

Supporters claim robotaxis will be safer than human drivers, who are prone to errors, tiredness, drunkenness, and road rage. But critics think the technology is not yet ready to be unleashed. San Francisco City Attorney, David Chiu, told Newsweek last month that "unfortunately, during this past year, we've had too many reports that have called into question whether this technology is safe."

Although there have been fatalities involving autonomous vehicles (AVs) over the course of their development, carmakers have doubled down on efforts to improve the technology.

Nevertheless, San Francisco—the city at the heart of the driverless vehicle experiment—has seen protests against the controversial robotaxis, which are slated to be rolled out across the U.S. with other cities currently testing the vehicles including Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, and Pittsburgh.

Monday's incident was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, which said its reporters had seen video and photographic evidence of the accident. Bicycle delivery rider Austin Tutone told the newspaper that he came across the scene as the woman was trapped beneath the driverless taxi, operated by Cruise. "I told her, 'The ambulance is coming' and that she'd be okay," he said. "She was just screaming." A photograph he took, published by the paper, appeared to show the vehicle on top of the victim.

San Francisco Fire Department crews arrived and used the jaws of life to lift the car off the woman. She had suffered "multiple traumatic injuries," Captain Justin Schorr told the paper, adding she was transported to San Francisco General Hospital where she reportedly remains in critical condition. Schorr said firefighters obstructed the sensors of the driverless car to alert the Cruise control center there was a problem. He said representatives from Cruise responded to firefighters and "immediately disabled the car remotely."

There were no passengers in the taxi at the time.

In an emailed statement, a Cruise spokesperson told Newsweek: "At approximately 9:30 pm on October 2, a human-driven vehicle struck a pedestrian while traveling in the lane immediately to the left of a Cruise AV. The initial impact was severe and launched the pedestrian directly in front of the AV. The AV then braked aggressively to minimize the impact. The driver of the other vehicle fled the scene, and at the request of the police the AV was kept in place. 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."

It remains unclear how long the woman was trapped beneath the AV, and the Cruise spokesperson did not address the question.

However, she reiterated that the AV remained in place "at the request of the police."

Newsweek sought further clarification from San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), but a spokesperson did not specify whether the car was pinning the victim to the ground when officers arrived. The SFPD spokesperson said: "At the scene of any vehicle collision, we document what occurred by gathering evidence. This evidence includes the location of the vehicle and/or vehicles before, during and after the collision, which is why the vehicle was kept in its stationary position.

"On 10/02/23 at approximately 9:31 pm officers responded to 5th and Market Streets regarding a vehicle collision involving a pedestrian. Officers arrived on scene and discovered an autonomous vehicle struck an adult pedestrian. Officers rendered aid and summoned medics to the scene and transported the pedestrian to the hospital[...]

"The autonomous vehicle remained on scene and did not have an occupant at the time of the collision. The operator of the autonomous vehicle is cooperating with the investigation.

"We believe that another vehicle that was not an autonomous vehicle may have been initially involved in the collision, but the vehicle or driver were not present at the scene during our investigation. The SFPD Traffic Collision Investigations Unit is leading the investigation and is looking into the factors that lead to this collision."

Anyone with information about the incident was asked to contact SFPD.

Update 10/3/23 12:18 p.m. EDT: This article was updated to include a statement from San Francisco Police Department.