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Driver in Fatal Uber Crash Was Watching TV

The backup driver of an Uber Technologies Inc. test car operating in self-driving mode was watching a television program on her phone when the car struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Ariz., two months ago.

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The backup driver of an Uber Technologies Inc. test car operating in self-driving mode was watching a television program on her phone when the car struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Ariz., two months ago.

Tempe police say in a 318-page report that the crash was “entirely avoidable” had the driver had been looking at the road ahead. An earlier finding by the National Transportation Safety Board said Uber had switched off the car’s automatic braking system, which could have avoided or lessened the impact.

Country prosecutors will determine whether to charge the driver with vehicle manslaughter.

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