Legal Cases

The 2019 crash in Key Largo, Florida, involving Tesla's autopilot system, became a landmark case in outlining corporate responsibility in AV technology. In August 2025, a Miami federal jury delivered a verdict that redefined legal liability for autonomous vehicles. An image of the crashed Tesla On March 1, 2019, a Tesla Model S operating on Autopilot ran a stop sign and collided with a parked Chevrolet Tahoe. Standing nearby were Naibel Benavides and Dillon Angulo. Benavides

In October 2023, A Cruise Robotaxi in San Francisco struck and dragged a pedestrian, igniting intense debate about safety and transparency in autonomous vehicle usage. A woman crossing Market Street was hit by a human-driven car and then dragged 20 feet by a Cruise robotaxi traveling at 7 mph. The incident was captured on video, but Cruise failed to disclose the full footage to regulators. The California DMV suspended Cruise's driverless permits, and the company was forced to

On March 18, 2018, Uber’s self-driving test program in Tempe, Arizona, faced tragedy when a pedestrian was struck and killed. This event was the first recorded pedestrian fatality involving an autonomous vehicle. Elaine Herzberg, 49, was crossing Mill Avenue with her bicycle when an Uber Volvo XC90 in autonomous mode struck her. The onboard safety driver, Rafaela Vasquez, was reportedly distracted by streaming video at the time. Herzberg’s death led to Uber suspending AV test