New footage of the crash that killed Elaine Herzberg raises fresh questions about why the self-driving car did not stop

Video of the first self-driving car crash that killed a pedestrian showed how the autonomous Uber failed to slow down as it fatally hit a 49-year-old woman walking her bike across the street.

The newly released footage of the collision that killed Elaine Herzberg in Tempe, Arizona, on Sunday night has raised fresh questions about why the self-driving car did not stop when a human entered its path and has sparked scrutiny of regulations in the state, which has encouraged testing of the autonomous technology.

“It’s just awful,” Tina Marie Herzberg White, a stepdaughter of the victim, told the Guardian on Wednesday. “There should be a criminal case.”

Police have released two videos of the case – one outside and one showing the interior of the Volvo SUV. The four-second exterior video showed the car driving down a somewhat dark and largely empty street as it collided into the woman walking directly in its path.

Tempe Police (@TempePolice) Tempe Police Vehicular Crimes Unit is actively investigating

the details of this incident that occurred on March 18th. We will provide updated information regarding the investigation once it is available. pic.twitter.com/2dVP72TziQ

The 14-second video inside the car showed the operator, identified by police as Rafaela Vasquez, 44, appearing to look at something inside the vehicle and not at the road at the time of the collision. She alternated between looking down and looking forward and appeared shocked at the last minute just as the car failed to stop.

Uber typically refers to its operators in the front of the autonomous cars as “safety drivers” who can intervene and take control of the car, but generally let the vehicles run in autonomous mode. The cars rely on radar sensors that are meant to detect pedestrians, cyclists, cars and other obstacles.

It is unclear what went wrong in this case. It was around 10pm at the time of the crash, and the video showed the woman appearing in view a second or so before the collision. She was not walking in a crosswalk when the car hit her, though Herzberg’s loved ones and some autonomous driving experts have argued that the technology still should have detected her.

Local prosecutors will decide whether criminal charges are warranted. Some have argued that under new rules issued by Arizona’s governor, a strong proponent of the technology, a company like Uber could possibly be criminally liable if an autonomous car negligently killed someone. But the local police chief, Sylvia Moir, suggested in an interview that she believed Uber was not at fault.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous,” said White, who said she was shocked to learn that an autonomous car had killed Herzberg, who she had known for more than 20 years. “I can’t believe that the [driver] that was in the car did not see her.”

Companies manufacturing the technology have argued that self-driving cars are safer than humans, but skeptics have pointed out that the industry is entering a dangerous phase while the cars are not yet fully autonomous, but human operators are not fully engaged.

White said she did not know whether Herzberg’s immediate family might pursue a civil case: “Ain’t no amount of money in the world going to bring her back.”

Uber has temporarily suspended its self-driving program, but has not commented on what caused the crash. The company said in a statement on Wednesday night: “The video is disturbing and heartbreaking to watch, and our thoughts continue to be with Elaine’s loved ones. Our cars remain grounded, and we’re assisting local, state and federal authorities in any way we can.”

White said she did not believe the cars should be allowed to return: “This might be the first, but I’ll tell you what, there will be more.”