Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel's office said on Tuesday that Rafaela Vasquez was charged with on Aug. 27 in the 2018 crash in Tempe that killed 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg. She pleaded not guilty during a hearing on Tuesday.
Prosecutors declined in March 2019 to file criminal charges against Uber, as a corporation, in Herzberg's death.But the National Transportation Safety Board concluded Vasquez's failure to monitor the road as she watched the television show "The Voice" on her phone was the main cause of the crash.
The board also concluded Uber's de-activation of its automatic emergency braking system increased the risks associated with testing automated vehicles on public roads. Instead of the system, Uber relied on the human backup driver to intervene. The death reverberated throughout the auto industry and Silicon Valley and forced other companies to slow what had been a fast march toward autonomous ride-hailing services on public roads.
Gov. Doug Ducey prohibited Uber from continuing its tests of self-driving cars after Herzberg was run over.Vasquez had previously spent more than four years in prison for two felony convictions — making false statements when obtaining unemployment benefits and attempted armed robbery — before starting work as an Uber driver, according to court records.
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