SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— A former Uber driver who fatally struck a 6-year-old girl in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood last New Year's Eve made his first court appearance on Wednesday.

57-year-old driver Syed Muzaffar, of Union City, did not enter a plea and is being charged with "misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter" in the accident that killed Sofia Liu.

Muzaffar struck Sofia as she walked with her mother and brother in a crosswalk at Polk and Ellis streets around 8 p.m. on New Year's Eve.

Sofia's family has also filed a wrongful death lawsuit arguing it was a case of distracted driving because Muzaffar was using his Uber smartphone app when the collision occurred.

Muzaffar's attorney said this was not a case of distracted driving that his client was driving on a dark night and made a legal turn.

After the accident, Uber issued a statement saying Muzaffar was not responding to a fare at the time and did not have a passenger in the car.