Woman hit by car immediately run over by driverless Cruise vehicle

A driverless Cruise vehicle has left a woman in critical condition after it ran her over after she’d just been hit by another car.

A San Francisco woman is in hospital after being struck by two vehicles in quick succession. After being thrown over the hood of a human-driven vehicle, she was then pinned underneath a Cruise driverless car.

Cruise currently has a reported 400 driverless vehicles in its fleet, with 150 of them driving on the road at night. Another 50 are permitted to drive during the day. Driverless cars from Cruise have been involved in multiple crashes since being allowed onto the streets.

As it detected the woman, the Cruise car then stopped and pinned her underneath the rear wheel. It took firefighters using the Jaws of Life to remove her from the accident. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the reported condition of the woman is critical.

Cruise driverless car pinned woman under wheels after she was hit by another car

Austin Tutone

Speaking with the SF Chronicle, a spokesperson from Cruise said that the car tried to “minimize the impact” by applying the breaks. A video of the incident apparently shows the woman crossing the road when a green light is on.

However, the news has reinforced the idea that driverless cars aren’t ready for the streets. In June, a Cruise car drove into the middle of a mass shooting, blocking aid to those wounded. Another case saw a fire engine crash directly into the side of a driverless car as it drove through a green light.

Automated driving has seen a lot of scrutiny over the last few months, especially as Tesla vehicles also continue to prove that it’s not ready. Tesla is currently about to head into a lawsuit after autopilot killed its driver. Cruise has been sued in the past, notably in 2018 after a driverless car caused an accident involving a cyclist.