In this case she did get an article. Apparently she was hit and knocked down by a human driver first and then the cruise ran her over.
Just speculating here, but would be useful to find out.
If human drivers see a pedestrian get hit or someone falling down, we instinctively know that's a human there on the pavement (and try to avoid at all costs, just like for pedestrians walking around). Or avoid human-shaped / human-sized objects just in case.
If a self-driving car would lose track of a human as soon as it stops looking like a typical pedestrian, that would be a problem.
>>> The initial impact was severe and launched the pedestrian directly in front of the AV. The AV then braked aggressively to minimize the impact.