This March $24,2017,$ photo provided by the Tempe Police Department shows an Uber self$-$driving SUV that flipped on its side in a collision in Tempe, Arizona.

On Sunday night, a self$-$driving car operated by Uber struck and killed a pedestrian, $49-$year$-$old Elaine Herzberg, on North Mill Avenue in Tempe, Arizona. It appears to be the first time an automobile driven by a computer has killed a human being by force of impact. The car was traveling at $38$ miles per hour.

An initial investigation to an external site. by Tempe police indicated that the pedestrian might have been at fault. According to that report, Herzberg appears to have come $$from the shadows,$$ stepping off the median into the roadway, and ending up in the path of the car while jaywalking across the street. The National Transportation Safety Board has also opened an investigation. It$$s still hard to know exactly what took place, at this time, without some speculation.

Likewise, it$$s difficult to evaluate what this accident means for the future of autonomous cars. Crashes, injuries, and fatalities where a certainty as driverless vehicles began moving from experiment to reality. In $2016,$ a Tesla operating in its unique $$autopilot$$ mode in Florida crashed to an external site. into a tractor$-$trailer that made a left turn in front of the vehicle, killing the Tesla$$s driver. At the time, it was the first known fatality from a self$-$driving vehicle$$but at the time of the accident, the car had apparently been warning to an external site. its driver to disengage the autopilot mode and take control of the vehicle.

Note: The NTSB has different categories for autonomous cars that range from driver controlled to totally autonomous. Whatever your thoughts about these cars, they are here to stay and will become more prevalent as time goes on$.$

So$,$ from a tort standpoint, who's responsible? The Driver? The dealer of the car? The manufacturer? What are the defenses and causes of action that might apply in these situations.