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Tommy, the Caputo family’s cat. He died after he was struck by a Waymo autonomous vehicle Sept. 6 in Central Austin.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Anton Caputo<\/p>\n
An Austin family is mourning after\u00a0an autonomous Waymo vehicle<\/a> struck and killed their beloved cat, Tommy, over Labor Day weekend near their home. \u00a0<\/p>\n The accident occurred Sept. 6 on Brackenridge Street near East Monroe Street, just east of South Congress Avenue<\/a> in Central Austin\u2019s Travis Heights neighborhood, according to Anton Caputo, who along with his wife and two adult children, owned Tommy for about five years.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Caputos weren\u2019t home at the time, but their neighbors William Lehner and Abbey Simpson were driving behind the Waymo and witnessed the situation unfold.<\/p>\n Lehner said the cat suddenly ran into the road and was immediately hit by the Waymo vehicle. The cat screamed and ran into some shrubbery, where Simpson found him. According to Lehner, the vehicle pulled over briefly to let out its two passengers before driving off.<\/p>\n \u201cIt knew it hit something because it stopped, and then the guys got out, and then the Waymo just drove away,\u201d Lehner said. \u201cThe whole thing was probably less than a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n Lehner said it\u2019s unlikely the vehicle could have stopped in time to avoid the collision. But what happened afterward raises questions about robotaxi operators\u2019 role in protecting animals on the road, and who should be responsible when one is injured or killed by an autonomous vehicle.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Tommy the cat died after he was hit by a Waymo autonomous vehicle Sept. 6 in Central Austin.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Anton Caputo<\/p>\n \u2018A badass cat\u2019<\/p>\n Tommy\u2019s injuries were \u201chorrific,\u201d Simpson said. His back was broken, and he had suffered severe trauma to a limb. The pair took him to an emergency veterinary clinic, where he was euthanized.<\/p>\n Caputo said Tommy, an indoor-outdoor cat raised by the family\u2019s dog, was unusually \u201cchill\u201d for a cat and popular with the neighbors.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cTommy was a badass cat,\u201d Caputo said. \u201cMy daughter found him in an H-E-B bag as a kitten in the church parking lot, and we took him in and raised him from there.\u201d<\/p>\n Tommy\u2019s loss hit the family hard, and Caputo wanted to know what happened. That same day, he contacted Waymo\u2019s customer support. But Waymo did not respond until more than a week later, hours after the American-Statesman reached out to the company for comment.<\/p>\n \u201cOur mission for trust and safety extends to all road users, including the domestic pets and wildlife in our communities. We are in touch with the cat\u2019s owners and have shared our sincere condolences,\u201d Waymo spokesman Chris Bonelli said in a statement.<\/p>\n The Caputo family owned Tommy for about five years before he was struck by a Waymo autonomous vehicle Sept. 6.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Anton Caputo<\/p>\n Bonelli told the American-Statesman the Waymo vehicle braked but was not able to avoid the collision, which Lehner corroborated. But according to Simpson, the Waymo vehicle shouldn\u2019t have driven away from the scene.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like a representative should have to come out,\u201d Simpson said. \u201cPeople are going to hit animals, but there is just a different level of accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n Had she and Lehner not stopped, Simpson added, the Caputos may never have found Tommy or known who or what had hit him.<\/p>\n \u201cIf a person did it, we wouldn\u2019t think that the acceptable reaction to hitting an animal is to drive on,\u201d Caputo said. \u201cSo I don\u2019t know why it should be for a corporate robot car.\u201d<\/p>\n Caputo said he would like Waymo, which is owned by Google\u2019s parent company, Alphabet Inc., to donate to an animal rescue in Tommy\u2019s name, as the company has done in past instances.\u00a0Lehner said Waymo should also pay for the $1,000 vet bill the family is now stuck with.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWaymo should absolutely be accountable for that. That\u2019s just the right thing to do,\u201d Lehner said. \u201cWaymo is a well-funded company that should have more than enough reserves on hand to pay for these types of things.\u201d<\/p>\n Bonelli said Waymo is working through an insurance claim with the Caputos.<\/p>\n Data scarce<\/p>\n In the last year, robotaxi operators have reported five collisions with animals in Austin and Del Valle to federal regulators.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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