Yes, it was pedantic. I didn't want it to be but I won't pretend it wasn't.

The point I was trying to make is that I believe the noteworthy event is that a self-driving car struck a person, without even attempting to avoid it. That she was killed is a tragic twist to the story. I believe that even if she wasn't killed it would still be a noteworthy event because, again, the car did not attempt to avoid it.

I do not at all intend to diminish the fact that Uber killed someone.

The event of interest is the vehicle striking/killing someone. Pulling the trigger is not that in the context of a shooting, and "pulling the trigger" is not really a euphemism for shooting and killing someone with a firearm.

"person shoots at people in school" still doesn't convey them killing anyone when the effect is a newsworthy subject (though maybe not that much in the US).