Austin Ambulance Crews Halted by Waymo Autonomous Car

A Waymo self-driving vehicle briefly blocked Austin ambulance crews responding to Sunday’s deadly mass shooting, which left three people dead and 13 wounded.
The incident occurred around 2 a.m. at a popular entertainment hub. Footage shows the Waymo car coming to a stop in the road as an ambulance heads up the street with flashing lights.
Witnesses shouted at it to move as it appeared slow to react, intermittently moving and stopping.

What Went Wrong

According to Waymo, the car had been hailed by a rider and was executing a U-turn when it identified a ‘road blockage’. As the ambulance appeared mid-turn, the car ‘briefly yielded’ and was assisted by a nearby officer.
It’s a pretty ridiculous situation – an autonomous car can’t even get out of the way of an ambulance.

Response Time Unaffected

The Austin-Travis County EMS chief, Robert Luckritz, said the blockage likely had little impact on the victims’ outcomes as police still arrived at the scene in less than a minute.
ATCEMS had over 20 assets respond to the event and were on scene within 57 seconds.
Luckritz added that ATCEMS has been in contact with Waymo to discuss steps for addressing the issue moving forward.

Investigation Ongoing

The mass shooting is being investigated as a potential terrorism nexus, possibly linked to the recent U.S. and Israel strike on Iran.
The suspect, 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, was found wearing a ‘Property of Allah’ sweatshirt and an undershirt depicting the Iranian flag.
It’s a complex and disturbing case, and we’ll be following it closely.