Waymo Automatic Vehicle Hits Pedestrian In Lower Haight

San Francisco CA

16 December, 2021

4:51 PM

Description

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A Waymo autonomous vehicle struck a pedestrian in San Francisco Wednesday night, according to a Reddit post. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the incident, but claimed the vehicle was in manual mode, meaning that a person was driving it. San Francisco police have also confirmed the incident. Waymo told The Verge that the pedestrian was treated for injuries at the scene and transported to the hospital by ambulance. San Francisco police said that the victim's injuries were not life threatening. "The trust and safety of the communities in which we drive are paramount to us, and we will continue investigating this incident in partnership with local authorities," spokesperson Katherine Barna said in a statement. Barna also told The Verge that the driver has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Reddit user KWillets posted a photo of a Waymo vehicle stopped in the middle of the road, with firetrucks, firefighters, and bystanders nearby. The Reddit user wrote that their neighbors in San Francisco's Lower Haight neighborhood had gotten out of a ride share. One neighbor crossed the street, while another stayed behind to take a picture. While a San Francisco police officer stopped to tell the neighbor about being careful crossing the street, a Waymo passed in the near lane and hit the person who had already crossed. The Reddit user said that the victim was "conscious and standing" afterwards. An SFPD spokesperson said in a statement that the driver, a 37-year-old male, remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators. SFPD also told The Verge that no arrests have been made in connection with the incident. Waymo, which is owned by Google's parent company Alphabet Inc., tests its autonomous vehicles all over San Francisco. According to 6.1 million miles of driving data, it has been involved in 18 crashes and 29 near-miss collisions. In 2018, an Uber self-driving car struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona.