Woman trapped under wheel axle of autonomous vehicle, suffered life-threatening injuries
A woman in San Francisco was found with life-threatening injuries late Monday after being run over and trapped under a self-driving car, authorities said.
First responders arrived at 5th and Market Streets just after 9:30 p.m. and found the woman underneath the left rear axle of a stopped Cruise autonomous vehicle, San Francisco Fire Capt. Justin Shore told FOX KTVU at the scene.
"Rescuers did not have any drivers or any passengers to ask about the nature of the injuries or how the victim came to be beneath the vehicle," Shore said.
Officers rendered aid to the woman and medics rushed to her a hospital for life-threatening injuries, said Officer Robert Rueca, a San Francisco Police Department spokesman.
CRUISE ROBOTAXI CRASHES INTO FIRETRUCK IN SAN FRANCISCO
Cruise said its autonomous vehicle remained at the scene of he crash at the request of police, while the driver of the other vehicle fled the scene. (KTVU)
Authorities said that the autonomous vehicle remained on scene and no driver was inside the vehicle at the time of the collision. It was unclear for how long the woman was trapped under the self-driving vehicle.
"Again, in this unique situation, we had no driver, passengers, nor any witnesses on the sidewalk to tell us how long she had been beneath the vehicle," Shore said.
Without a driver or witnesses, fire officials said it was unclear for how long the woman was trapped beneath the autonomous car. (KTVU)
Cruise, the company behind the autonomous car, gave an account of what happened in a statement issued on social media early Tuesday. The company that operates the self-driving vehicle said the incident began with a hit-and-run committed by a human driver.
"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 statement said. "The initial impact was severe and launched the pedestrian directly in front of the AV."
Police said the department's Traffic Division was continuing to investigate the collision. (KTVU)
The driverless Cruise vehicle then "aggressively" hit the brakes "to minimize the impact," the company claimed. Cruise said the driver of the other vehicle fled the scene, while the driverless car remained on site at the request of authorities.
"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," the company said.
The San Francisco Police Department’s Traffic Division is leading the investigation.
Authorities asked anyone with information about the collision to SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD.
