A woman is believed to have become the first pedestrian killed by a self-driving car, prompting Uber to suspend testing of its autonomous vehicles.
Police in a Phoenix suburb said a self-driving vehicle struck and killed the woman overnight Sunday (local time).
The vehicle was in autonomous mode with an operator behind the wheel when the accident occurred, Tempe police Sergeant Ronald Elcock said.
The woman,49-year-old Elaine Herzberg,died of her injuries at a hospital.
Local television footage of the scene showed a crumpled bike and a Volvo XC90 SUV with a damaged front.
In a statement, local police said Ms Herzberg was "walking outside of the crosswalk, crossed the road from west to east, when she was struck by the Uber vehicle".
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Transportation Safety Board said they were sending teams to investigate the crash.
Uber's testing has been going on for months in the Phoenix area, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto as automakers and technology companies compete to be the first with the technology.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi expressed condolences on Twitter and said the company was working with local law enforcement on the investigation.
The US government has voluntary guidelines for companies that want to test autonomous vehicles, leaving much of the regulation up to states.
The US Department of Transportation is considering other voluntary guidelines that it says will help foster innovation.
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