Waymo collides with dog in San Francisco shortly after driverless taxi kills beloved cat

A Waymo self-driving car struck a dog in San Francisco just weeks after another incident in which a local cat lost its life to one of the company's autonomous taxis. According to Waymo, one of its robotaxis made contact with a small, unleashed dog in the roadway.

The event occurred on Sunday evening around 8 p.m. in the Western Addition neighborhood, local reports indicate. San Francisco news outlet Mission Local discovered a Reddit post from the same day titled, Our Waymo Just Ran Over a Dog. The passenger in the vehicle shared, Trying to call customer support. Called the police. Crowd is gathering not sure what to do.

In a follow-up, the passenger noted that Waymo contacted them to make sure we were okay. The company acknowledged the incident and confirmed that a collision report had been filed. It remains unclear whether the dog survived the collision. The passenger added, They said they are sending team members to the area to look for the owner of the dog and to offer any veterinary or similar services.

Waymo released a public statement emphasizing its commitment to community safety, saying it is dedicated to learning from this situation and how we show up for our community as we continue improving road safety in the cities we serve.

This is not the first recent case of a Waymo vehicle hitting an animal. In October, a tabby cat named KitKat was killed by a robotaxi in San Franciscos Mission District. KitKat was well-known as the mascot of Randa's Market on 16th Street. Waymo stated that the cat darted under our vehicle as it was pulling away.

Waymo expressed condolences to the cats owner and the community, adding that a donation would be made to a local animal rights organization in KitKats honor. Following the incident, Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on X, noting, Many pets will be saved by autonomy.

The Reddit passenger reflected on the incident, saying, I am not sure a human driver would have avoided the dog either though I do know that human would have responded differently to a bump followed by a car full of screaming people.

According to data cited by the San Francisco Chronicle, Waymo vehicles have been involved in more than a dozen animal-related accidents since mid-2021, with at least 14 reported collisions and five resulting in animal fatalities. While comparable data for human drivers is limited, a 2022 Indiana University Bloomington report estimated that around 5.4 million cats are struck by vehicles annually, with most of these animals dying as a result.

Author: Sophia Brooks