Uber Driver Involved In Fatal Crash Was Reportedly Watching ‘The Voice’

After the deadly self-driving Uber accident in March, a police report was released that reportedly revealed the female driver had been watching “The Voice” prior to the crash while the vehicle was in autonomous mode.

The report indicated that the crash could have been prevented had the driver not been watching the show. But because of her distracted driving, Elaine Herzberg was killed in the crash after being struck by the autonomous vehicle.

The driver was reportedly streaming “The Voice” for approximately 45 minutes before the accident. Dash camera video showed that the driver had been looking down towards her right knee for about four or five seconds before the crash. She reportedly looked up a half second before striking Herzberg while the vehicle was traveling around 44 miles per hour.

The driver told police that the victim “came out of nowhere” and that she didn’t see her prior to the collision. But officers calculated that had Vasquez been paying attention, she could have reacted 143 feet before impact and brought the SUV to a stop about 42.6 feet before hitting Herzberg.

After much review of the video, it’s reported that the driver looked down roughly 200 times over the course of 11.8 miles. An Uber spokeswoman said in a prepared statement that the company is cooperating with investigators while it does an internal safety review. Use of a mobile device, while an autonomous vehicle is moving, is a fireable offense, not to mention illegal.