SF Chronicle – Person, dog killed as car at ‘extreme rate of speed’ hits 6 others in S.F., including Waymo
Editors note: this crash was clearly caused by an extremely dangerous human driver. But we do need to point out that once again, the availability of robotaxis in San Francisco is in no way improving safety. Even if autonomous driving turns out to be more safe than human driving on average, the dangerous drivers clearly will not switch over to using it.
The only way to prevent crashes such as this one is to design our streets so that vehicles simply cannot be driven at 50mph, much less the almost 100mph reported for this crash. Street design isn’t high tech. It isn’t sexy. But it is the only thing that will significantly improve safety. Autonomous vehicles on the other hand are merely a distraction from achieving true safety.
It should also be noted that “street design” includes mandating speed governors, as has been done in Europe. Speed governors limit a vehicle’s speed to the allowed speed of the road. Speed warning systems, which are weak forms of governors, were legislated in 2024 in California, but even the watered down legislation was vetoed by Governor Newsom.
See original article by Nora Mishanec at San Francisco Chronicle
A person and dog were killed Sunday in a multicar crash at the intersection of Sixth and Harrison streets in San Francisco that mangled several vehicles, including a Waymo robotaxi.
Officers responded to the crash, which happened around 6:08 p.m., and arrived to find six vehicles that had been “struck by another vehicle,” according to a statement by police. Multiple people were in their cars, with several victims transported to a hospital.
One vehicle occupant was declared dead at the scene. The deceased dog was in the same vehicle.
A suspect was detained by authorities while being treated for injuries at the hospital. Investigators are working to determine whether drugs or alcohol were factors in the collision.
Drivers were advised to avoid the area, which was littered with shattered glass and auto parts, as police blocked off Sixth Street between Harrison and Bryant streets. Half a dozen police investigators inspected the damage.
“I heard the vehicles collide, and there was a boom,” said Eric Toribio, an employee at a gas station next to the crash scene. Customers inside the gas station ran to the window to see the source of the noise, Toribio said. The crash occurred beyond the area captured by the store’s security cameras.
The scene included a pickup truck crashed into a sidewalk. A Tesla sedan was damaged after an apparent collision with a Lexus sedan. The Tesla’s windshield was smashed, its front end a maze of mangled metal and its driver door open. There were piles of sand on the ground in front of the car, apparently used to put out a fire. Nearby, a Waymo sat with its entire rear end ripped off and damage to its side. A white sedan with its side torn off appeared to have crashed into the Waymo and come to a halt behind it. At least two other cars with noticeable damage were at a standstill with their blinkers on.
At the scene, a medical examiner’s van pulled up and pulled out a single stretcher. Police officers held up a white sheet while the medical examiners moved a body to the stretcher and loaded it into their truck at 8:40 p.m.
The body appeared to come from the white sedan that crashed directly into the Waymo. The sedan’s side was torn off.
A statement from Waymo gave some clue to the incident: “An unoccupied Waymo vehicle operating autonomously was in a line of stand-still traffic when it was struck from behind by a vehicle that was impacted by another vehicle traveling at an extreme rate of speed.”
In a statement, Mayor Daniel Lurie said, “I have been briefed on the multi-vehicle incident that occurred downtown this evening. It is a tragedy to lose someone on our streets, and our thoughts are with all those affected and their families. We hope those injured will make a full recovery. Public safety has been my top priority from day one, and traffic safety is public safety.”
The San Francisco Fire Department said police were investigating the crash and had closed points of access. The SFFD said travelers should expect closures overnight and recommended following @SFMTA_Muni for reroutes.
The San Francisco Police Department said in a statement that investigators were working to determine whether the incident was related to hit-and-run collisions that took place on northbound Interstate 280 moments before the crash on San Francisco city streets. The I-280 incident was being investigated by the California Highway Patrol, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP41, beginning the message with “SFPD.”
See original article by Nora Mishanec at San Francisco Chronicle
