{"id":"a3661a43-71d5-4e45-b2b4-bc3ef33154aa","slug":"uber-atg-herzberg-tempe-2018","kind":"fatality","headline":"Uber ATG self-driving test vehicle struck and killed pedestrian Elaine Herzberg in Tempe, Arizona - the first pedestrian death caused by an autonomous vehicle (2018)","summary":"On March 18, 2018, a Volvo XC90 operated by Uber Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) in autonomous mode struck and killed pedestrian Elaine Herzberg, 49, as she crossed a road in Tempe, Arizona. A human safety operator, Rafaela Vasquez, was aboard as required for the developmental automated driving system (ADS) but was not watching the road at the moment of the collision. The NTSB (docket HWY18MH010, report HAR-19/03) found the ADS failed to correctly classify Herzberg and the operator's inattention as immediate causes, with Uber ATG's inadequate safety culture contributing. Vasquez later pleaded guilty to endangerment (2023). Operational class: ads_testing_with_operator - autonomous mode engaged with a human safety monitor aboard, the boundary between driverless ADS (no human aboard) and driver-assist ADAS (a human driving). This is the first pedestrian fatality caused by an autonomous vehicle on the verified record.","occurredAt":"2018-03-18T12:00:00.000Z","reviewStatus":"reviewed","modelId":"2e291b88-d05e-4be2-8395-fc6b8536a84e","deploymentId":null,"companyId":"a69621a1-c096-447f-a676-d74993d3582c","aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"none","reviewNote":null,"severity":"catastrophic","rootCauseCategory":null,"rootCauseDetail":null,"affectedUnitsCount":null,"affectedUnitsBasis":null,"remediationStatus":null,"regulatoryAction":null,"regulatoryBody":null,"propertyDamageEstimateUsd":null,"damageEstimateBasis":null,"bodilyInjurySeverity":"fatal","fatalityCount":1,"lossCostClass":null,"sourceQualityTier":null,"oshaRecordable":null,"oshaCaseNumber":null,"rootCauseDisclosed":null,"publicDisclosureDate":null,"insuranceClaimPublic":null,"formFactor":"av","latitude":{"s":1,"e":1,"d":[33,4255000]},"longitude":{"s":-1,"e":2,"d":[111,9400000]},"autonomyClass":"ads_testing_with_operator","createdAt":"2026-07-21T23:52:26.546Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-22T00:33:46.521Z","model":{"id":"2e291b88-d05e-4be2-8395-fc6b8536a84e","companyId":"a69621a1-c096-447f-a676-d74993d3582c","modelName":"Uber ATG Self-Driving Vehicle (Volvo XC90)","slug":"uber-atg-xc90","description":"Uber ATG's self-driving test vehicle platform, based on the Volvo XC90 with redundant steering and braking systems. Used in Uber's autonomous vehicle testing program (2016-2020) including the Tempe, AZ deployment where the first AV pedestrian fatality occurred in March 2018. ATG was acquired by Aurora Innovation in December 2020.","formFactor":"av","industryVertical":null,"environment":null,"maturityStage":"pilot","lifecycleState":"discontinued","supersededByModelId":null,"specs":{},"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"unreviewed","sources":{"create":[{"url":"https://www.volvocars.com/us/media/press-releases/3352585DE4E0643C/","label":"Volvo Cars"},{"url":"https://betakit.com/uber-atg-reveals-new-self-driving-vehicle/","label":"BetaKit"}]},"aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"manufacturerTermForTeleop":null,"keyFacts":[],"createdAt":"2026-07-22T00:33:45.759Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-22T00:33:45.759Z","unitsInFieldClaimed":null,"unitsInFieldVerified":null,"unitsManufacturedClaimed":null,"unitsManufacturedVerified":null,"unitsAsOf":null,"unitsSource":null,"salesModel":null,"priceUndisclosedSince":null,"autonomyClass":null,"autonomyStatement":null,"autonomyStatementSource":null,"demoForensics":null,"exportControlClass":null,"minCommitment":null,"warrantyTerms":null,"serviceModel":null,"productionRateClaimed":null,"productionRateEvidenced":null,"teleopRatioDisclosed":null,"interventionRateDisclosed":null},"deployment":null,"company":{"id":"a69621a1-c096-447f-a676-d74993d3582c","name":"Uber ATG","slug":"uber-atg","description":"Uber Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) was Uber's autonomous vehicle R&D division, established in 2015 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA. ATG developed self-driving technology using [Volvo XC90](/models/uber-atg-xc90) platforms and operated test fleets in Pittsburgh, Tempe, San Francisco, and Toronto. In March 2018, an ATG test vehicle struck and killed pedestrian Elaine Herzberg in Tempe, Arizona — the first pedestrian fatality caused by an autonomous vehicle. ATG was acquired by [Aurora Innovation](/companies/aurora) in December 2020 for approximately $4 billion.","status":"acquired (by Aurora, 2021)","founded":null,"hq":"San Francisco, CA","fundingTotal":null,"type":"both","reviewStatus":"reviewed","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByCompanyId":null,"sources":[{"url":"https://aurora.tech/","title":"Aurora Uber ATG","date_accessed":"2026-06-24"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"HQ","value":"Pittsburgh, PA"},{"label":"Focus","value":"Self-driving unit"},{"label":"Acquired By","value":"Aurora Innovation"}],"aliases":["Uber Advanced Technologies Group"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"atsProvider":null,"atsSlug":null,"factoryLocations":null,"manufacturingCapacity":null,"orgType":null,"burnSignal":null,"litigationEvents":null,"insurancePostureDisclosed":null,"unitEconomicsDisclosed":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-25T00:29:54.848Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-22T00:39:24.678Z"},"derived":{"status":"active"},"sources":[{"id":"b6cd02d8-6539-4294-9e09-7b7ca9d0ee89","incidentId":"a3661a43-71d5-4e45-b2b4-bc3ef33154aa","url":"https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/HAR1903.pdf","label":"NTSB Highway Accident Report HAR-19/03 (docket HWY18MH010), Tempe AZ, March 18 2018","publishedAt":"2019-11-19T00:00:00.000Z","notes":null,"title":null,"sourceName":null,"mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-07-21T23:52:27.337Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-21T23:52:27.337Z"},{"id":"780cb711-37c7-4c77-ba18-748f7dc36119","incidentId":"a3661a43-71d5-4e45-b2b4-bc3ef33154aa","url":"https://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Pages/2019-HWY18MH010-BMG.aspx","label":"NTSB Board Meeting HWY18MH010 (Nov 19 2019)","publishedAt":"2019-11-19T00:00:00.000Z","notes":null,"title":null,"sourceName":null,"mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-07-21T23:52:27.739Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-21T23:52:27.739Z"}],"responses":[],"statusEvents":[],"jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/uber-atg-herzberg-tempe-2018","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/uber-atg-herzberg-tempe-2018","headline":"Uber ATG self-driving test vehicle struck and killed pedestrian Elaine Herzberg in Tempe, Arizona - the first pedestrian death caused by an autonomous vehicle (2018)","description":"On March 18, 2018, a Volvo XC90 operated by Uber Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) in autonomous mode struck and killed pedestrian Elaine Herzberg, 49, as she crossed a road in Tempe, Arizona. A human safety operator, Rafaela Vasquez, was aboard as required for the developmental automated driving system (ADS) but was not watching the road at the moment of the collision. The NTSB (docket HWY18MH010, report HAR-19/03) found the ADS failed to correctly classify Herzberg and the operator's inattention as immediate causes, with Uber ATG's inadequate safety culture contributing. Vasquez later pleaded guilty to endangerment (2023). Operational class: ads_testing_with_operator - autonomous mode engaged with a human safety monitor aboard, the boundary between driverless ADS (no human aboard) and driver-assist ADAS (a human driving). This is the first pedestrian fatality caused by an autonomous vehicle on the verified record.","identifier":"a3661a43-71d5-4e45-b2b4-bc3ef33154aa","datePublished":"2018-03-18T12:00:00.000Z","articleSection":"fatality","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"},"author":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"verified","maturity_stage":null,"lifecycle_state":null,"architectural_position":{"cohort":null,"sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":2,"primary_source_types":["primary-government-record"]}}}