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OnticBeta
2023criticalAutonomous Vehicles/Safety

Cruise Robotaxi Pedestrian Dragging

System Description

Cruise autonomous vehicle (robotaxi) operating without human driver in San Francisco

Authoritative Output Type

Autonomous driving decisions including post-collision response protocols

Missing Required State

Under-vehicle pedestrian detection, accurate collision classification, post-crash safety verification

Why This Is SAF

After running over a pedestrian knocked into its path by another vehicle, system misclassified the collision as 'lateral' rather than pedestrian strike, then executed a 'pull over' maneuver that dragged the victim 20 feet because it failed to detect a person was underneath

Completeness Gate Question

Has the system confirmed no pedestrian is in contact with or underneath the vehicle before executing post-collision movement?

Documented Consequence

$1.5M NHTSA penalty, $500K DOJ criminal fine, $112.5K CPUC settlement, DMV permit suspension, CEO/COO resignations, fleet grounded nationwide, criminal deferred prosecution agreement

Primary Sources

Notes

- **Verified**: 2025-12-19 - **Incident Date**: October 2, 2023 - **Doj Agreement Date**: November 14, 2024 - **Total Penalties**: $2.1125M+

Prevent this in your system.

The completeness gate question above is exactly what Ontic checks before any claim gets out. No evidence, no emission.