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Incident · Fatality

Person and dog killed when speeding vehicle rear-ends unoccupied Waymo stopped in San Francisco traffic

On the evening of January 19, 2025, an unoccupied Waymo robotaxi operating autonomously was stationary in a line of stopped traffic at 6th and Harrison Streets in San Francisco when it was struck from behind by a vehicle that had itself been hit by another vehicle traveling at an extreme rate of speed. Six vehicles were involved in the resulting collision.

One passenger in another vehicle and a dog were killed; seven people were injured. San Francisco police said the speeding vehicle caused the crash; Waymo was not blamed for the collision. Reporting characterized it as the first US collision in which a fully driverless vehicle, with no one in the driver's seat, was involved in a fatality.

Occurred 2025-01-19 · Waymo · Investigated by NHTSA

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Incident records on DEPLOY are compiled from public sources (regulatory filings, news reports, and operator disclosures) and reflect what has been reported and tracked to date. They are not legal findings, determinations of fault, or safety ratings, and may be updated as new information is verified. See the sources below for the underlying references.
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Sources (2)

  1. NBC Bay Area · https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/waymo-multi-car-wreck-san-francisco-driverless/3766860/ · 2025-01-20
  2. https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/waymo-crash-harrison-street-fatality-20068413.php · 2025-01-20

Status history

  • Active · 2026-09-11 · agent:recon

Common questions

What happened in Person and dog killed when speeding vehicle rear-ends unoccupied Waymo stopped in San Francisco traffic?
On the evening of January 19, 2025, an unoccupied Waymo robotaxi operating autonomously was stationary in a line of stopped traffic at 6th and Harrison Streets in San Francisco when it was struck from behind by a vehicle that had itself been hit by another vehicle traveling at an extreme rate of speed. Six vehicles were involved in the resulting collision. One passenger in another vehicle and a dog were killed; seven people were injured. San Francisco police said the speeding vehicle caused the crash; Waymo was not blamed for the collision. Reporting characterized it as the first US collision in which a fully driverless vehicle, with no one in the driver's seat, was involved in a fatality.
When did this incident occur?
The incident is recorded as occurring on January 19, 2025 on the DEPLOY registry. The date reflects the underlying real-world event, not the registry record's creation date.
Who was involved in Person and dog killed when speeding vehicle rear-ends unoccupied Waymo stopped in San Francisco traffic?
The incident is recorded as involving Waymo on the DEPLOY registry. No specific robot model is linked to this incident in the registry.
Has anyone responded to Person and dog killed when speeding vehicle rear-ends unoccupied Waymo stopped in San Francisco traffic?
No responses to this incident are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Operators, manufacturers, or affected parties can submit responses to the editorial team; absence is not a guarantee no response was issued.
What is the current status of Person and dog killed when speeding vehicle rear-ends unoccupied Waymo stopped in San Francisco traffic?
This incident is an active record on the DEPLOY registry; no retraction or correction has been issued.
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-09-29

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-09-29

Sources by quality tier

2
unclassified
Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Person and dog killed when speeding vehicle rear-ends unoccupied Waymo stopped in San Francisco traffic.

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Canonical ID 918f3e95-035d-41c2-ad83-e454d38dd2d9