Your passenger's side comment didn’t make sense to me until I read the Forbes article linked above:
> Herzberg is said to have abruptly walked from a center median into a lane with traffic
So that explains that. However, contrary to the thrust of your argument, the experience of the sober driver, who was ready to intervene if needed, is hard to dismiss:
> “The driver said it was like a flash, the person walked out in front of them,” Moir said. “His first alert to the collision was the sound of the collision.”
And also:
> “It’s very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode [autonomous or human-driven] based on how she came from the shadows right into the roadway,” Moir told the paper, adding that the incident occurred roughly 100 yards from a crosswalk. “It is dangerous to cross roadways in the evening hour when well-illuminated managed crosswalks are available,” she said.
> Herzberg is said to have abruptly walked from a center median into a lane with traffic
So that explains that. However, contrary to the thrust of your argument, the experience of the sober driver, who was ready to intervene if needed, is hard to dismiss:
> “The driver said it was like a flash, the person walked out in front of them,” Moir said. “His first alert to the collision was the sound of the collision.”
And also:
> “It’s very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode [autonomous or human-driven] based on how she came from the shadows right into the roadway,” Moir told the paper, adding that the incident occurred roughly 100 yards from a crosswalk. “It is dangerous to cross roadways in the evening hour when well-illuminated managed crosswalks are available,” she said.