Waymo confirms its new van-like robotaxi was under human control during an Echo Park crash
- A Waymo Ojai prototype crashed into cars on a narrow LA street.
- Waymo says it was in manual mode, driven by a safety operator.
- No serious injuries occurred, though some narrowly avoided harm.
The big fear behind autonomous cars is that they’ll lose control, make mistakes, and ultimately hurt people or damage property. To this point in history, it’s been very rare, but not unheard of, to hear of stories that demonstrate that possibility.
Initially, it sounded like we were going to get another example of that after a crash involving a Waymo Ojai prototype in California. In this case, though, it was a human behind the wheel the entire time.
More: Waymo Robotaxi Traps Passenger In Endless Parking Lot Circles
Shocking surveillance footage from Los Angeles shows a new Waymo vehicle plowing into multiple parked cars on a narrow residential street near Dodger Stadium, narrowly missing pedestrians in the process. While the video has already sparked plenty of reaction online, Waymo was quick to clarify one key detail: the vehicle was not driving itself.
Waymo Confirms Manual Mode, No Passengers
The autonomy company told KTLA that it was in manual mode and had no passengers at the time. The crash occurred around 11 a.m. on January 25 in Echo Park, with video showing the vehicle traveling downhill before veering off course and striking several parked cars along the curb.
One man unloading groceries had to sprint out of the way as the Waymo vehicle barreled past, later describing the moment as a close call.
“You can see from the video — the Waymo lost control down the street and it just happened to hit my mama’s car,” Homeowner Jorge Don Antonio said. “My brother was able to push my mom out of the way before the car. Luckily, they’re okay.”
Crash Site Has a History of Incidents
While it might be easy to blame distracted driving or something similar, that might not be the case. Evidently, this isn’t the first time that Don Antonio and his family have seen this sort of crash in the same spot.
“It is a one-way street, and we are near Dodger Stadium,” he said. “During the games, it loses control… It’s not the first time, unfortunately.” Waymo has not said what caused the driver to lose control, but confirmed the employee exited the vehicle on their own and was not injured.
Paramedics checked on nearby residents as a precaution, and no serious injuries were reported. In this case, it was a human, not AI, behind the wheel, but no doubt it’ll make Waymo work hard to be even more careful in the future.
