Video shows new Waymo vehicle slam into parked cars in Echo Park
By Marc Cota-Robles
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ECHO PARK, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Shocking new surveillance video shows the moments a Waymo vehicle crashed into several parked cars in Echo Park. One man nearby narrowly missed getting hit.
Waymo told Eyewitness News that there were no riders in the Waymo at the time of the crash, and the vehicle was in “manual driving mode,” meaning a Waymo autonomous specialist was behind the wheel when it crashed, and the vehicle was not self-driving.
Home surveillance video captured the wreck, which involved a new Waymo model that the company is rolling out — a robotaxi with a van-like design called the “Ojai.”
Waymo says the specialist was driving the vehicle when, for some reason, it left the roadway and then crashed into several parked cars.
It was a close call for the man whose car was the first to be hit. He was unloading groceries and had to run out of the way to avoid being hit himself.
“When I turned my face that way, I saw the car coming straight, fast. He was hitting all the plants until he went up the hill, and my reaction was running, run!” Salvador Donantonio said.
Luckily, Donantonio got out of the way.
The crash happened on Sunday on Lilac Place, a narrow street off Vin Scully Avenue near Dodger Stadium.
Waymo says the employee who was driving was not injured. The company did not specifically say what caused the employee to lose control.
Waymo is planning to add the “Ojai” to its operations later this year. It’s designed to supplement the current robotaxi line.
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