Image: Cruise
GM’s Cruise will pay a criminal fine of $500,000 to resolve a federal investigation and accept a deferred prosecution agreement after the company admitted to falsifying a report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) “with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation” of a crash where one of its driverless vehicles struck and dragged a pedestrian in 2023.
NHTSA had already fined Cruise $1.5 million in September for submitting incomplete reports that failed to disclose that the robotaxi dragged the pedestrian 20 feet after they were hit by another vehicle and knocked into its path. The dragging wasn’t in a verbal summary Cruise employees gave to NHTSA the next day, video of the accident shown to…