Bodega cat struck and killed by Waymo, store owner says Bodega cat struck and killed by Waymo, store owner says

The Mission District community is mourning a bodega’s mascot cat who was struck and killed by a Waymo autonomous vehicle on Monday, the store’s owner says. KitKat, a gray tabby, was rushed to a veterinarian but did not survive. A sidewalk memorial with flowers and candy is outside Randa’s Market at 16th Street.

SAN FRANCISCO – A Waymo autonomous vehicle has struck another animal in San Francisco, prompting more concerns over the safety of the autonomous driving technology.

What we know:

This time it was a dog that was struck. The animal reportedly suffered injuries so severe, it had to be put down. 

The collision happened around 8 p.m. on Sunday, according to Mountain View-based Waymo. 

What they’re saying:

“The well-being and safety of our community is what drives us. Unfortunately, a Waymo vehicle made contact with a small, unleashed dog in the roadway,” a company spokesperson told KTVU in a statement.

On Reddit on Sunday, a user identified as braveNewWorldView took to the social media platform reporting that his Waymo vehicle had struck a dog in the area of Eddy and Scott streets in the city’s Western Addition neighborhood. 

He said the traumatic incident happened as he, his wife and children were returning home from a tree lighting event. 

“Dog was rolling around in the street,” the Reddit user wrote. He also noted that the animal was not on a leash and described the dog as being 20 to 30 pounds or the size of two flour bags, or “a corgi or fat wiener dog.”

Frantic scene 

The Reddit user said his kids started crying, his wife began screaming, and he frantically tried to figure out how to stop the car and get help.

“Couldn’t figure it out. Screen was ‘Thank you’ or something while wife and kids were “OMG WE KILLEd A DOG”. Under duress I tried tapping the screen a few times but eventually led the family back home,” he wrote. 

braveNewWorldView said the accident was not far from his home, where he made calls to Waymo customer support, police and reached out to San Francisco’s 311 customer service center.

SEE ALSO: Waymo expands to Bay Area freeways, San Jose airport

Meanwhile, he said he could see a crowd had gathered at the site where the dog was hit.

“Car kept going but I was a few blocks away and was able to walk back. Dog is yelping and can be heard from a distance which attracted the crowd. People were upset and gathering, I did not get closer. Situation seemed volatile,” the Reddit user wrote. 

Dog reportedly euthanized 

San Francisco Animal Care & Control said it did not receive a report about the animal until the following day. 

The agency said it received unconfirmed reports that the dog had to be put down.  

“It was reported to officers – but not confirmed – that the dog was taken to a veterinarian by its owners and euthanized due to the severity of its injuries,” SF ACC spokesperson Deb Campbell told KTVU in an email. 

Cat killed by Waymo 

Dig deeper:

The collision comes a little more than a month after a cat was struck and killed by a Waymo in the city’s Mission District.

That incident prompted grief and outrage from members in the community for KitKat, a gray tabby that belonged to the owner of a neighborhood bodega on 16th Street and was considered the market’s mascot.

The cat’s death also prompted District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who represents the Mission District, to call for the state legislature to give counties a say in how autonomous vehicles, such as Waymo, operate in their community. 

Waymo’s response

braveNewWorldView later updated his post to say that Waymo had responded to him and said an investigation was underway. 

“A manager at Waymo called me this morning to make sure we were okay. They acknowledged what had happened. A collision report has been filed and they offered support services should they be needed,” the Reddit user shared, adding the company also promised to use the data it’s gathered to see if there was anything that could have been done to prevent the collision. 

It was a similar message in the company’s statement to KTVU: “We are 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.” 

Waymo stressed its commitment to continue to improve road safety of its vehicles and noted that its data shows its autonomous driving technology has an 11 times lower rate of injury-causing crashes compared to human drivers. 

The San Francisco resident who was in the Waymo that hit the dog expressed his appreciation for the outreach from the company and called it an “unfortunate situation but not uncommon for driving in general.” 

He also questioned if the collision could have been prevented had there been a person behind the wheel.

“Honestly 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,” the Reddit user said, as he offered, “I suggested a wellness check feature that would check on passengers should the car detect panic screaming.”

The dad noted that he does not plan to stop using Waymo because of this incident. But he said, “It’s going to be a while before my kids will be willing to try it again.”

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