Operator Of Driverless Uber That Killed Arizona Woman Was A Felon

Henry Rodgers

The operator of one of Uber’s self-driving cars that hit and killed a pedestrian Monday is a convicted felon who served nearly four years in prison, according to court records.

Rafaela Vasquez, 44, the operator of the Volvo, who was in the driver’s seat, reportedly had the car in self-driving mode when he struck a woman who was walking outside the crosswalk Monday. According to Court records obtained by the Arizona Republic, Vasquez served three years and 10 months in a state prison for convictions on attempted armed robbery and unsworn falsification.

The information was reported after it was discovered Vasquez was using a different legal name, and had charges under another name in the state. He was released from prison in 2005. (RELATED: Driverless Uber Runs Over Woman In Arizona)

Uber announced that they would cooperate with investigations in a tweet, and suspend testing driverless cars in other cities, which include Phoenix, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Toronto.

This incident is the first known fatality from an autonomous vehicle.