Scenes of chaos from San Francisco’s Chinatown unfold throughout social media Sunday after a mob vandalized and set hearth to a Waymo self-driving automotive utilizing a firework on Saturday night. Waymo, owned by Google dad or mum firm Alphabet, has been providing Californians a 24/7 taxi service in driverless automobiles for the reason that summer season.
“Waymo Car surrounded after which graffiti’d,” the San Francisco Hearth Division mentioned on social media hours later. “Home windows have been damaged, and firework lit on hearth contained in the car which in the end caught your entire car on hearth.”
Pictures uploaded by the hearth division, which later reminded folks that utilizing fireworks is banned in San Francisco, confirmed the car in flames and later its charred stays.
Waymo Car surrounded after which graffiti’d, home windows have been damaged, and firework lit on hearth contained in the car which in the end caught your entire car on hearth. #SFFD
Pictures by Séraphine Hossenlopp pic.twitter.com/aOTqL3Rk8V— SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) February 11, 2024
Police are investigating, and no arrests had been made as of Monday afternoon, San Francisco Police Division spokesperson Paulina Henderson instructed The Washington Submit.
Officers responded to the hearth at about 8:50 p.m. native time, the police assertion mentioned. When the officers arrived, the unoccupied automotive was “engulfed in flames,” based on the assertion, which added that there have been no stories of accidents.
Mayor London Breed (D) warned that the hearth may have been a lot worse for the encompassing space.
“Chinatown is likely one of the densest neighborhoods in San Francisco, and any hearth may explode and unfold amongst tightly-packed buildings to hazard lives, houses and companies,” she mentioned in a press release Monday afternoon.
Aaron Peskin (D), president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, instructed NBC Information that the incident was “horrible” and “extraordinarily harmful.”
“Individuals may have been damage and most significantly, this was the day of the Chinese language Lunar New 12 months,” Peskin mentioned. “This is likely one of the most vital days for households, there have been hundreds and hundreds of vacationers right here, partaking within the occasions.”
A Waymo spokesperson instructed Reuters that the passenger-less automotive was shifting alongside a avenue in Chinatown when folks surrounded it. Later somebody threw a firework inside, setting the hearth, the corporate mentioned.
“The car was not transporting any riders and no accidents have been reported,” the corporate mentioned.
Though automobiles with out drivers have change into a frequent sight on San Francisco’s winding and sloping streets, there are long-standing tensions between the town’s residents and the automobiles.
Nonetheless, not often have driverless automobiles been set on hearth.
A Waymo car struck a bike owner final week within the Potrero Hill neighborhood, leading to minor accidents, the Verge reported. The Waymo passenger was unharmed, and the bike owner left the scene on their very own.
Driverless automobiles have prompted main considerations in San Francisco by disrupting first responders on a number of events, together with driving into scenes cordoned off by warning tape and hanging a firetruck responding to an emergency, The Submit beforehand reported.
Final yr, a robotaxi operated by Cruise — a Waymo rival — rolled over a pedestrian and dragged her about 20 toes, after which the California Division of Motor Autos suspended its operations. Days later, the corporate mentioned it could droop all driverless operations within the nation to look at its course of and earn again public belief.
In 4 movies uploaded by witness Michael Vandi, who heads Addy AI, an AI firm, a person who’s utilizing his jacket to cowl his face may be seen scribbling on the again of the automotive with what seems to be a sharpie. Others within the crowd seem unmasked. An unidentified voice encourages others to gentle the car on hearth.
The environment instantly exterior Hua Lengthy Buying and selling, a store promoting cigarettes, snacks and different every day objects on Jackson Road, seems charged.
As soon as the automotive is about on hearth, nevertheless, folks seem to again away from the car. The Submit couldn’t entry footage of the second when the firecracker was thrown contained in the automotive.
Vandi instructed Reuters in a direct message on X, previously Twitter, that individuals have been celebrating the Lunar New 12 months on Saturday night by setting off fireworks. He mentioned he noticed an individual bounce onto the hood of the car and break its windshield, and one other later jumped onto the hood as the group clapped. Vandi couldn’t be reached for remark Monday morning.
“That was when it went WILD,” he wrote. “There have been 2 teams of individuals. Of us who encourage it – and others who have been simply shocked & began filming. Nobody stood up – i imply there wasn’t something you would do to face as much as dozens of individuals.”
