Crash marks 1st death involving fully autonomous vehicle

A fatal pedestrian crash involving a self-driving Uber SUV in a Phoenix suburb could have far-reaching consequences for the new technology as automakers and other companies race to be the first with cars that operate on their own.

FILE - In this Dec. 13, 2016, file photo, an Uber driverless car heads out for a test drive in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

The crash Sunday night in Tempe was the first death involving a full autonomous test vehicle. The Volvo was in a self-driving mode with a human backup driver at the wheel when it struck 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg as she was walking a bicycle outside the lines of a crosswalk in Tempe, police said.

This March 19, 2018, still image taken from video provided by ABC-15, shows investigators at the scene of a fatal accident involving a self-driving Uber car on the street in Tempe, Ariz. (ABC-15.com via AP)

Uber immediately suspended all road-testing of such autos in the Phoenix area, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto. The ride-sharing company has been testing self-driving vehicles for months as it competes with other technology companies and automakers like Ford and General Motors.

Though many in the industries had been dreading a fatal crash they knew it was inevitable.

FILE - In this Dec. 13, 2016, file photo, an Uber driverless car is displayed in a garage in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Tempe police Sgt. Ronald Elcock said local authorities haven't determined fault but urged people to use crosswalks. He told reporters at a news conference Monday the Uber vehicle was traveling around 40 mph when it hit Helzberg immediately as she stepped on to the street.

FILE - In this Dec. 13, 2016, file photo, an Uber driverless car waits in traffic during a test drive in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Neither she nor the backup driver showed signs of impairment, he said.

"The pedestrian was outside of the crosswalk, so it was midblock," Elcock said. "And as soon as she walked into the lane of traffic, she was struck by the vehicle."

FILE - In this March 1, 2017, file photo, people enter the headquarters of Uber in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

The National Transportation Safety Board, which makes recommendations for preventing crashes, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which can enact regulations, sent investigators.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi expressed condolences on his Twitter account and said the company is cooperating with investigators.

A vehicle goes by the scene of Sunday's fatality where a pedestrian was stuck by an Uber vehicle in autonomous mode, in Tempe, Ariz., Monday, March 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

The public's image of the vehicles will be defined by stories like the crash in Tempe, said Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies self-driving vehicles. It may turn out that there was nothing either the vehicle or its human backup could have done to avoid the crash, he said.

Either way, the fatality could hurt the technology's image and lead to a push for more regulations at the state and federal levels, Smith said.

Autonomous vehicles with laser, radar and camera sensors and sophisticated computers have been billed as the way to reduce the more than 40,000 traffic deaths a year in the U.S. alone. Ninety-four percent of crashes are caused by human error, the government says.

Tempe police Sgt. Ronald Elcock speaks during a news conference Monday, March 19, 2018, after a pedestrian was stuck by an Uber vehicle in autonomous mode Sunday night in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Self-driving vehicles don't drive drunk, don't get sleepy and aren't easily distracted. But they do have faults.

"We should be concerned about automated driving," Smith said. "We should be terrified about human driving."

In 2016, the latest year available, more than 6,000 U.S. pedestrians were killed by vehicles.

The federal government has voluntary guidelines for companies that want to test autonomous vehicles, leaving much of the regulation up to states.

Tempe police Sgt. Ronald Elcock speaks during a news conference Monday, March 19, 2018, after a pedestrian was stuck by an Uber vehicle in autonomous mode Sunday night in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Many states, including Michigan and Arizona, have taken a largely hands-off approach, hoping to gain jobs from the new technology, while California and others have taken a harder line.

California is among states that require manufacturers to report any incidents during the testing phase. As of early March, the state's motor vehicle agency had received 59 such reports.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey used light regulations to entice Uber to the state after the company had a shaky rollout of test cars in San Francisco. Arizona has no reporting requirements. Hundreds of vehicles with automated driving systems have been on Arizona's roads.

Ducey's office expressed sympathy for Herzberg's family and said safety is the top priority.

The crash in Arizona isn't the first involving an Uber autonomous test vehicle. In March 2017, an Uber SUV flipped onto its side, also in Tempe. No serious injuries were reported, and the driver of the other car was cited for a violation.

Herzberg's death is the first involving an autonomous test vehicle but not the first in a car with some self-driving features. The driver of a Tesla Model S was killed in 2016 when his car, operating on its Autopilot system, crashed into a tractor-trailer in Florida.

The NTSB said that driver inattention was to blame but that design limitations with the system played a major role in the crash.

The U.S. Transportation Department is considering further voluntary guidelines that it says would help foster innovation. Proposals also are pending in Congress, including one that would stop states from regulating autonomous vehicles, Smith said.

Peter Kurdock, director of regulatory affairs for Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety in Washington, said the group sent a letter Monday to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao saying it is concerned about a lack of action and oversight by the department as autonomous vehicles are developed. That letter was planned before the crash.

Kurdock said the deadly accident should serve as a "startling reminder" to members of Congress that they need to "think through all the issues to put together the best bill they can to hopefully prevent more of these tragedies from occurring."

It was a common scam that ended with an uncommon outcome, tragically in an Ohio driveway.

William J. Brock fatally shot an Uber driver because he wrongly assumed she was part of a scheme to extract $12,000 in supposed bond money for a relative, authorities said this week. Lo-Letha Hall was a victim of the same con, summoned by the grifters to Brock's house to retrieve a purported package for delivery.

Brock later told investigators he believed Hall arrived to get the money the scammers wanted.

He is now facing murder charges, to which he's pleaded not guilty. Hall's family is grieving. And Uber is helping investigators to try to catch whoever was behind the attempted swindle.

The grift is commonly known as a grandparent scam or fraud, exploiting older people’s love for their family, experts say. Callers claim to be anyone from grandchildren to police, telling victims something terrible happened and that their younger relative needs money.

Here's what we know about the shooting and the investigation so far:

Brock, 81, received scam calls the morning of March 25 at his home in South Charleston, a town of about 1,800 people between Dayton and Columbus. The calls regarded an incarcerated relative and “turned to threats and a demand for money," according to a statement from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

While Brock was on the phone, Hall got a request through the Uber app to pick up a package from Brock's house for delivery, the sheriff's office said. Hall, 61, of Columbus, was unaware of the attempted scam.

“Upon being contacted by Ms. Hall, Mr. Brock produced a gun and held her at gunpoint, making demands for identities of the subjects he had spoken with on the phone,” the sheriff's office said.

Hall was unarmed and never threatened Brock or made any demands of him, the sheriff's office said.

Brock took Hall's cellphone and refused to let her leave, the sheriff's office said. When she tried to get back into her car, Brock shot her. He shot her a second time and a third time during subsequent scuffles.

Brock then called 911 to report he shot someone on his property who was trying to rob him.

Police body camera footage shows him briefly discussing what he said had happened.

“I’m sure glad to see you guys out here because I’ve been on this phone for a couple hours with this guy trying to say to me I had a nephew in jail and had a wreck in Charleston and just kept hanging on and needing bond money," Brock said. "And this woman was supposed to get it.”

The footage shows investigators discussing $12,000 sitting on a table in Brock’s house.

The footage also shows a Clark County Sheriff's Office detective in Brock's house talking on the phone with a man who was talking to Brock earlier. He identified himself as an officer and told the detective, “You're going to be in trouble."

When the detective identified herself as an actual police officer, the phone disconnected. During a subsequent phone call with the man, the detective told him the Uber driver was in a serious accident, in the hospital and “not doing well."

The man told the detective he'd be there in 20 minutes. He was not.

Brock was indicted on Monday of charges of murder, assault and kidnapping. He posted $200,000 bail and was released from the Clark County Jail on Wednesday. His attorney, Paul Kavanagh, did not immediately return an email seeking comment on Friday.

Grandparent scams have become increasingly common in the last 10 to 15 years — in part because of the abundance of personal information available about people online, said Anthony Pratkanis, an emeritus psychology professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Criminals retrieve specific details about someone's relative on social media and use the information to convince victims that their loved one is in trouble, said Pratkanis, whose research includes fraud crimes.

“Basically what the criminal is doing is taking advantage of our human nature," he said. "You're in a panic state, high emotional arousal. It's a fear appeal. And the best way to get rid of that fear is to give the criminal that money.”

Fraudsters typically prefer financial transactions that don't require physical proximity, such as wire transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrency, Pratkanis said. This case is unusual because the scammers deployed Hall as an unsuspecting money mule.

“Most people in today’s kind of scams don’t really have interactions with the criminal — there’s a distance,” Pratkanis said. “But when there isn’t, there’s an opportunity for the anger of being victimized to cause the victim to take action.”

Uber said Wednesday that it was helping investigators look into an account that sent Hall to Brock's home. The ride-hailing company described Hall's death as “a horrific tragedy."

An obituary for Hall described her as the parent of a son and a stepson, a devoted member of her church and a talented cook known for delicious pound cakes.

She retired from Ohio’s Regional Income Tax Agency and also worked in behavioral health, at a school and for Uber. She studied horticulture at Ohio State and started a janitorial business.

At a memorial service that was streamed online, her son Mario Hall spoke of how close they were even though they lived in different states, often speaking on the phone multiple times a day. He said they "had a bond like no other.”

“Thank you for all your sacrifices and all the things you have instilled in me,” he said. "You are the best mom that anyone could ask for. And I promise to continue to make you proud."

In this image taken from Uber dashcam video released by the Clark County, Ohio, Sheriff's Office, William Brock, right, holds a weapon to Uber driver Loletha Hall outside his home in South Charleston, Ohio, on March 25, 2024. Brock, 81, who authorities say fatally shot Hall who he thought was trying to rob him after scam phone calls deceived them both, was indicted on a murder charge, Monday, April 15, 2024, by a Clark County grand jury. Hall had no knowledge of the calls made to Brock, authorities said. (Clark County Sheriff's Office via AP)

This booking photo released by the Clark County, Ohio, Sheriff's Office, shows William Brock, an Ohio man who authorities say fatally shot an Uber driver who he thought was trying to rob him after scam phone calls deceived them both. Brock, 81, is charged with murder, felonious assault and kidnapping in the March 25, 2024, shooting death of Uber driver Loletha Hall. (Clark County Sheriff's Office via AP)

What we know about the shooting of an Uber driver in Ohio and the scam surrounding it

What we know about the shooting of an Uber driver in Ohio and the scam surrounding it

In this image taken from Uber dashcam video released by the Clark County, Ohio, Sheriff's Office, William Brock, right, holds a weapon to Uber driver Loletha Hall outside his home in South Charleston, Ohio, on March 25, 2024. Brock, 81, who authorities say fatally shot Hall who he thought was trying to rob him after scam phone calls deceived them both, was indicted on a murder charge, Monday, April 15, 2024, by a Clark County grand jury. Hall had no knowledge of the calls made to Brock, authorities said. (Clark County Sheriff's Office via AP)