Uber settles with family of victim in fatal self-driving vehicle accident

The family of the woman who was killed in a fatal accident with Uber's self-driving vehicle in the US state of Arizona has reportedly reached a settlement with the ride-hailing company even as the police continued to investigate the crash.

"The attorney with the firm of Bellah Perez in Glendale, Arizona, said 'the matter has been resolved' between Uber and daughter and husband of Elaine Herzberg who died after being hit by an Uber self-driving SUV," The Telegraph reported on Thursday.

However, the terms of the settlement between Herzberg's family and Uber have not been disclosed.

Meanwhile, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey suspended the ride-hailing giant's self-driving vehicle tests earlier this week following the fatal collision.

"As Governor, my top priority is public safety. Improving public safety has always been an emphasis of Arizona's approach to autonomous vehicle testing and my expectation is that public safety is also the top priority for all who operate this technology in Arizona," Ducey wrote in a letter to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

Uber has already suspended its self-driving operations in other cities including Tempe, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto following the fatal accident.

A self-driving Volvo SUV from Uber travelling at 64 km per hour killed the woman in Arizona earlier this month, triggering a heated debate on whether autonomous cars are safe enough and who is to blame for the death.

According to the police, the victim was walking outside of the crosswalk when she was hit by the car, which was in autonomous mode at that time although a vehicle operator was behind the wheel.