Victim suddenly stepped infront of self-driving Uber vehicle: Police

It is the first pedestrian killing incident, involving a self-driving car.

“The driver said it was like a flash, the person walked out in front of them,”  Sylvia Moir, police chief in Tempe, Arizona, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

“His first alert to the collision was the sound of the collision," Moir said.

Elaine Herzberg was killed in the incident.

The self-driving Volvo SUV was outfitted with at least two video cameras, one facing forward toward the street, the other focused inside the car on the  driver, Moir said.

“It’s very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode (autonomous or human-driven) based on how she came from the shadows right into the roadway,” Moir told the newspaper.

“I suspect preliminarily it appears that the Uber would likely not be at fault in this accident, either,” Moir said.

“I won’t rule out the potential to file charges against the (backup driver) in the Uber vehicle,” added the cop.

Following a fatal accident in Tempe, popular app-based Taxi service Uber has suspended its self-driving car tests in all North American cities, media reports said on Tuesday.

While self-driving cars have been involved in multiple accidents, it is thought to be the first time an autonomous car has been involved in a fatal collision,reported BBC.

Meanwhile, Uber chief Dara Khosrowshahi called the incident as 'sad'.

"Some incredibly sad news out of Arizona. We’re thinking of the victim’s family as we work with local law enforcement to understand what happened," he tweeted.

Meanwhile, Uber said it is cooperating with the police in the investigation into the case.

"Our hearts go out to the victim’s family. We’re fully cooperating with @TempePolice and local authorities as they investigate this incident," read a tweet issued from the official Twitter handle of Uber.