Cruise fined $500K for false report on pedestrian crash
Cruise admitted to submitting false and incomplete reports to federal regulators about an October 2023 crash in which its robotaxi struck and dragged a pedestrian in San Francisco. The company agreed to pay $500,000 in criminal fines and implement safety compliance measures under a deferred prosecution agreement.
What happened
In October 2023, one of Cruise's autonomous vehicles struck a pedestrian in San Francisco after she was hit by another vehicle and knocked into the robotaxi's path, then dragged her 20 feet (6.1 meters).
Cruise submitted multiple false and incomplete reports to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that failed to disclose the dragging. A verbal summary given by Cruise employees to NHTSA the next day omitted the dragging, video shown to investigators excluded that segment, and a written report submitted by Cruise left out the dragging as well.
Cruise admitted to submitting the false report with intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the federal investigation.
Reported impact
The incident resulted in physical injury to a pedestrian who was struck and dragged by the autonomous vehicle.
Index analysis
NHTSA had previously fined Cruise $1.5 million in September 2024 for submitting incomplete reports that failed to disclose the dragging incident.
Governance controls
Under a deferred prosecution agreement, Cruise is required to pay a $500,000 criminal fine, cooperate with government investigations, implement a Safety Compliance Program, and provide annual reports to the U.S. Attorney's Office. If Cruise fails to fulfill its obligations during the three-year term, prosecution of the charged offense can proceed.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.