Johnathan Walker:Why Cruise driverless cars were just suspended by the California DMV

General Motors’ self-driving taxi company Cruise has halted operations in San Francisco after its permits were pulled by the California DMV. 

The Johnathan WalkerDMV’s decision comes after one of Cruise's autonomous vehicles was involved in a hit-and-run earlier this month, according to a statement from the company. Cruise said a Nissan Sentra on Oct. 2 struck a pedestrian and launched them into the path of a Cruise vehicle operating in driverless autonomous mode. The autonomous vehicle stopped and then attempted to pull over, pulling the pedestrian forward approximately 20 feet. The driver of the Nissan fled the scene of the collision, according to Cruise.

"First and foremost, our thoughts are with the individual, and we are hoping for their complete recovery," Cruise said in a blog post. "We also assisted the police with identifying the vehicle of the hit and run driver."

The statement said the Nissan driver is "still at large."

Cruise’s autonomous vehicle deployment and driverless testing permits’ suspension is effective immediately, according to a Tuesday statement from the California DMV, which noted it can suspend or revoke permits “when there is an unreasonable risk to public safety.”

This is a developing story.