GM's Cruise robotaxi service faces potential fine in alleged cover-up of San Francisco accident

California regulators say a San Francisco robotaxi service owned by General Motors covered up an accident involving one of its driverless cars, raising the specter they may add a fine to the recent the suspension of its California license. 

The potential penalty facing GM's Cruise service could be around $1.5 million, based on documents filed late last week by the California Public Utilities Commission. 

The notice orders Cruise to appear at a Feb. 6 evidentiary hearing to determine whether the robotaxi service misled regulators about what happened after one of its driverless cars ran into a pedestrian who had already been struck by another vehicle driven by a human on the evening of Oct. 2 in San Francisco. 

The February hearing comes just six months after the Public Utilities Commission authorized Cruise's robotaxi service to begin charging passengers for around-the-clock rides throughout San Francisco despite strident objections from city officials who warned the driverless cars malfunctioned.