An unoccupied Waymo was reportedly hit in a hit-and-run collision early Monday just outside the Waymo dispatch lot at 14th and Folsom streets, and the suspects had apparently just stolen a car in SoMa.
Redditor Kayla Flores, whose user name is Traditional_Carob810, snapped the photos below after the accident, which happened around 2:40 am Monday.
The suspect vehicle rammed or sideswiped the Waymo, which was coming out of the partially concealed parking lot across from the Foods Co. They then apparently tried to flee on foot into the parking lot, and found no way out — and were then arrested.
Police subsequently blocked the robocars egress point from the lot using a single orange cone, Flores says — and another photo shows the cars lined up trying to get out and get to work, all with some cautionary yellow symbol blinking on their roofs.
As one commenter put it, "[it] looks kinda crazy [like] all the Waymo[s] looking like they ganging up to go help their buddy."
The SF Standard reports that the incident began around 2 am when cops on patrol at UN Plaza were informed by a robbery victim that two suspects had stolen his cash and his car keys at the corner of Eighth and Folsom streets, all while he stood next to his vehicle.
The victim suffered minor injuries, and the suspects took off — clearly in the direction of 14th Street. Police spotted the suspect vehicle, gave chase, but then lost it near 11th and Folsom streets.
It's not clear if the stolen car was somehow disabled, or if they fled on foot for some other reason — or maybe they thought they could break into one of the robocars and hide or hitch a ride?
Both were arrested — a 26-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man, as the Standard reports. She was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a felony, resisting arrest, and receiving a stolen vehicle; he was arrested for the stolen vehicle, and suspicion of possessing meth. Their names were not released.