In an incident that has raised concerns in San Francisco, two Cruise company driverless autonomous taxis blocked an ambulance carrying a seriously injured person, resulting in the death of the patient at the hospital, according to a report issued by the city’s Fire Department.
(It may interest you: Is a visa needed to enter the United States when it is done for a stopover trip?).
The event occurred on August 14 in the SoMa neighborhood, when Cruise’s two autonomous vehicles stopped in the two right lanes of a four-lane street, obstructing the passage of the ambulance that was going to treat the victim, who she had been run over in a nearby road accident.
According to the report, it was necessary to request the assistance of a police vehicle that was in another lane so that the ambulance could continue on its way to Zuckerberg General Hospital in San Francisco, located approximately four kilometers from the accident site.
The delay caused by autonomous vehicles in transportation and medical care resulted in the unfortunate death of the patient between 20 and 30 minutes after arrival at the hospital. Cruise, however, claimed that he was not responsible for the incident.
Images that General Motors’ autonomous vehicle subsidiary shared with ‘The New York Times’ suggested that one of its cars had withdrawn from the scene before the patient was loaded into the ambulance, while the other remained in the right lane. until the paramedics left.
The recordings also showed that other vehicles, including another ambulance, passed on the right side of the Cruise taxi.
(You may be interested in: ‘Mass emigration is going to destroy New York’: Controversial words from Mayor Eric Adams).
In an official statement, Cruise stated: “As soon as the victim was loaded into the ambulance, the ambulance left the scene immediately and was at no time impeded by the Cruise vehicle.“. Footage shows the ambulance passed the stopped Cruise vehicle approximately 90 seconds after loading the victim.
The company explained that a city police officer communicated with one of its employees via in-vehicle remote assistance, allowing the company to move the vehicle from the scene after the ambulance’s departure.
The Fire Department confirmed the details provided in the report and stressed the importance of minimizing delays in emergency situations. Jeanine Nicholson, Chief of the Fire Department, criticized Cruise for not taking responsibility and stressed the need for more dialogue about the incident.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors Chairman Aaron Peskin noted that regardless of the circumstances that caused the patient’s death, the growing number of incidents involving driverless autonomous vehicles is alarming. Peskin stated that “they all have a common theme: autonomous vehicles are not ready for prime time.”
Cruise and Waymo, backed by Alphabet, Google’s parent company, began offering driverless taxi services in San Francisco last year. This accident came four days after both companies won approval from state regulators to expand their services to offer round-the-clock rides in San Francisco.
The Fire Department reported that this case joins more than 70 incidents in which autonomous vehicles interfered with emergency services in the city.
More news
*This content was made with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on information from La Nación of Argentina, and was reviewed by the journalist and an editor.
#driverless #autonomous #taxis #blocked #ambulance #patient #died