An independent review paid for by General Motors and Cruise revealed how the embattled autonomous vehicle company's executives mishandled a robotaxi crash in San Francisco last year that left a woman severely injured.
On Thursday, law firm Quinn Emanuel published a 195-page report of Cruise's actions in the days leading up to the October 2 accident, as well as after, in which a hit-and-run-driver hit a pedestrian directly into the path of a robotaxi operated by Cruise, which then dragged the woman 20 feet who was trapped underneath the vehicle. This led to a nationwide grounding of Cruise's robotaxis.
Incident area
Cruise robotaxi
The report noted that Cruise executives didn't intentionally mislead regulators but that their initial disclosures were inadequate:
The report said "internet connectivity issues" prevent government regulators from reviewing the full crash video.
"However, in three of these meetings, internet connectivity issues likely precluded or hampered them from seeing the Full Video clearly and fully. And Cruise failed to augment the Full Video by affirmatively pointing out the pullover maneuver and dragging of the pedestrian."
Until the crash, Cruise pushed hard to roll out its robotaxi nationwide. Since then, GM has slashed its investments in Cruise.