A Cruise autonomous vehicle struck a pedestrian who had been thrown into its path by a human-driven vehicle on October 2, 2023 in San Francisco, then dragged her approximately 20 feet while attempting to pull over because its sensors did not detect her underneath the vehicle, according to the DOJ. Cruise admitted to filing a false accident report with NHTSA that omitted the dragging, agreed to pay $500,000, and the California DMV suspended the company's autonomous vehicle permits.
Operator takeaway
Cruise's sensors could not detect a person under the vehicle — if you are called to recover a disabled AV, do not assume its safety systems are functioning and treat it as a fully manual operation.