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Cruise Exec Omitted Pedestrian Dragging In Summary of Self-Driving Car Incident to California DMV, Email Shows

Nov 18, 2023 - vice.com
A senior executive at Cruise, a self-driving car company, reportedly failed to disclose that one of its autonomous vehicles dragged a pedestrian 20 feet during a crash in an email to the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The incident, which occurred on October 2, was initially described by the executive as a collision where the pedestrian was hit by another vehicle and subsequently struck by the Cruise vehicle. However, the DMV's review of the full video footage revealed that the Cruise car dragged the pedestrian before coming to a stop.

Following the incident, the DMV revoked Cruise's license to operate, alleging that the company had withheld the full video of the crash. Cruise denied the allegations and halted all driverless vehicle operations nationwide. The company also hired a law firm to investigate the incident and issued a voluntary recall to address potential issues with its Collision Detection Subsystem.

Key takeaways:

  • A senior Cruise executive did not mention in a summary to the California Department of Motor Vehicles that one of the company's self-driving cars dragged a pedestrian 20 feet after an accident.
  • The California DMV revoked Cruise's license to operate self-driving cars, stating that the company omitted footage of the pedestrian being dragged by the car in a meeting.
  • The email detailing the incident was sent by David Estrada, the senior vice president for legal affairs at Cruise, to Steve Gordon, the director of the CA DMV, the day after the crash.
  • After the license suspension, Cruise halted all driverless vehicle operations across the country, hired a law firm to investigate the incident, and issued a voluntary recall to address the Cruise Collision Detection Subsystem.
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