Waymo has acknowledged that one of its autonomous vehicles ran over a beloved corner store cat on 16th Street Monday, and the company says it will be making a donation to an animal rights organization in the cat's honor.

The circumstances surrounding the Monday night death of KitKat, a well known and well loved resident cat at Randa's Market on 16th Street in SF's Mission District, will likely continue to be scrutinized. Multiple witnesses were reportedly present for the accident, in which the cat was either on or next to the sidewalk, and a Waymo vehicle was reportedly picking up passengers and pulled out quickly from the curbside.

When we first learned about the cat's demise earlier this week, we only knew there was a 311 call recorded about the incident, and Waymo had not yet confirmed whether one of its vehicles was responsible. The cat had been described as being on the sidewalk at the time, near the transit lane.

The company gave a statement to KRON4 late Thursday, pledging to make a donation in KitKat's honor, and seeming to blame the cat for "darting" under the wheel of the car — an account that eyewitnesses may or may not agree with.

"The trust and the safety of the communities we serve is our highest priority," Waymo's statement says. "We reviewed this, and while our vehicle was stopped to pick up passengers, a nearby cat darted under our vehicle as it was pulling away. We send our deepest sympathies to the cat’s owner and the community who knew and loved him, and we will be making a donation to a local animal rights organization in his honor.”

The incident highlights the discomfort that many feel as autonomous vehicles continue to proliferate on the city's streets, and as the potential for grows for injuries and fatalities for which no human can be deemed responsible.

Waymo and other autonomous tech companies insist, their robocars are far more safe, on average, than human-driven ones, which may be true. But instances like these have a way of souring public sentiment as the growth of AI continues to dominate the cultural conversation.

"I just find it disgusting that Waymo has [a role] in this,” says neighbor Sarah Koohnz, speaking to KRON4. “I’ve known multiple people that have been hit by those vehicles, myself included, and I just find it disgusting that that’s the way KitKat went."

The 311 caller noted that "the Waymo didn’t even try to stop and hit the cat at a fast speed" after allegedly swerving in front of another vehicle. That description would tend to cast doubt on the claim that the cat darted under the vehicle.

KitKat has been a fixture at Randa's since 2020, and was featured in an SFGate roundup of corner store cats that year. A memorial shrine to the cat on the sidewalk outside the market has only grown in recent days.

In a high-profile incident that led directly to the demise of Waymo competitor Cruise, a woman who was crossing Fifth Street near Market — also described at the time as "darting" — was struck by a vehicle and knocked into the path of a Cruise vehicle, which did not immediately stop and proceeded to drag the woman twenty feet. The woman survived the incident but was badly injured.

Waymo CEO Tekedra Mawakana was actually asked about the issue on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt Monday, just hours before KitKat's tragic death.

“Will society accept that? Will society accept a death potentially caused by a robot?” asked TechCrunch transportation editor Kristen Korosec, per SFGate.

"I think that society will," Mawakana said. "I think the challenge for us is making sure that society has a high enough bar on safety that companies are held to."

Mawakana added, "We have to be in this open and honest dialogue about the fact that we know it’s not perfection."

Previously: Beloved Bodega Cat Allegedly Killed By Waymo In Mission District

Top image via Randa's Market/Instagram