Arabella Asis Auto 01.26.2024 01:Jan AM EST

DOJ, SEC Probe Cruise's Autonomous Car Accident on a Pedestrian

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) are now investigating GM's autonomous car company, Cruise, months after a driverless car hit and dragged a pedestrian.

In October 2023, Cruise made headlines after one of its autonomous cars hit a pedestrian and eventually dragged her by 20 feet in San Francisco, California.

Cruise Shares Third-Party Findings of Incident

In a blog post, Cruise revealed the findings of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan about the October 2, 2023 incident. According to the report, it was a side impact with the pedestrian which eventually got pulled forward by 20 feet and dragged the individual in the process.

"This sequence of events caused serious injury. The hearts of all Cruise employees continue to be with the pedestrian and we hope for her ongoing recovery," the company added.

Weeks after the incident, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) suspended the company's driverless permit. Since then, Cruise has voluntarily paused its nationwide driverless, supervised, and manual AV driving operations. The company also assigned a new Chief Safety Officer and interim leader to guide the employees.

Cruise Acknowledges Failure on AV Operations

Cruise promised that the company would act on all of the recommendations from the third-party results. Along with this, the company also acknowledges its lapses and failure to live up to the expectations of the regulators and the community.

The AV operator assured the public that it is now "fully cooperating" with the state and federal regulators. This includes the California DMV, California Public Utilities Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOJ, and SEC.

"We know our license to operate must be earned and is ultimately granted by regulators and the communities we serve. We are focused on advancing our technology and earning back public trust," Cruise added.