WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration said on Monday that General

Motors' ( GM ) self-driving car unit Cruise will pay a $1.5

million fine after it failed to disclose details of a serious

October 2023 crash involving a pedestrian.

Under the settlement, Cruise must submit to NHTSA a

corrective action plan on how it will improve its compliance

with reporting of serious incidents and face enhanced reporting

requirements for at least two years.

Cruise also faces ongoing investigations by the Justice

Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission following

the accident in which one of its robotaxis in San Francisco

struck a pedestrian after she was hit by another vehicle and

dragged her 20 feet (6.1 meters).

In October 2023, Cruise employees tried to convince NHTSA

not to open an investigation into the injury incident and

submitted reports that failed to disclose the pedestrian had

been dragged, a report commissioned by GM said.

Cruise Chief Safety Officer Steve Kenner said the agreement

with the agency "is a step forward in a new chapter for Cruise,

building on our progress under new leadership, improved

processes and culture, and a firm commitment to greater

transparency with our regulators."

NHTSA said Cruise submitted several incomplete reports for

crashes involving automated driving systems including two tied

to the October crash.

It discovered Cruise omitted details from the October 2023

crash reports after viewing video it requested from Cruise,

which has also amended four other reports to provide additional

detail on other crashes, the agency said.

NHTSA's investigation into whether Cruise is taking

sufficient precautions with its autonomous robotaxis to

safeguard pedestrians remains open.

In August, Cruise recalled 1,200 robotaxis over hard braking

issues following a NHTSA probe into the safety of their

autonomous driving systems.

GM said in July it would indefinitely suspend plans to use

its self-driving Origin vehicle that does not have a steering

wheel.

In response to the October accident and subsequent

investigations, Cruise's CEO resigned last year and General

Motors ( GM ) subsequently announced plans to scale back spending on

the self-driving unit.

The California Public Utilities Commission imposed the

maximum penalty of $112,500 on Cruise for its failure to

promptly provide complete information to the commission about

the crash.