Cruise, the self-driving robo taxi company owned by General Motors, reached a settlement with the pedestrian who was dragged by one of its vehicles last fall, according to someone with knowledge of the matter and independently verified by Coins2Day.
The settlement was between $8-12 million, Coins2Day has learned. It’s unclear exactly when the settlement was reached.
The accident itself took place late in the evening on Oct. 2 when a pedestrian who was crossing the road in San Francisco was struck in a hit-and-run by another vehicle, then subsequently dragged for 20 feet by one of Cruise’s autonomous robo-taxis. Regulators determined Cruise had not been forthcoming enough with them about the incident, and ordered Cruise to halt its taxi service in San Francisco. Cruise subsequently pulled all of its vehicles off the road across the U.S., and it is just now starting to reintroduce its robo taxi fleet back on the roads.
The current condition of the pedestrian remains unknown. A representative from Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where the pedestrian was taken after the incident in critical condition, said that the pedestrian had been discharged, but declined to share any further information. The San Francisco Police Department said it continues to investigate the incident.
“The hearts of all Cruise employees continue to be with the pedestrian, and we hope for her continued recovery,” a Cruise spokesperson said in a statement.
Cruise said earlier this week that it would start testing its self-driving vehicles in Arizona—operating autonomously, but with human drivers inside the vehicles to take over, if needed. The testing will begin in Phoenix and will then gradually move into other cities in the state. At the beginning of April, Cruise submitted responses to the California DMV to reinstate its permit, though the DMV told Coins2Day those responses are still under review.
In the six months following the October accident, General Motors slashed Cruise’s annual budget by $1 billion and replaced nearly all of the company’s management team. Cruise has recorded $9.2 billion in pre-tax losses since GM acquired the company in 2016, according to filings.
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