A driverless Waymo Jaguar taxi was torched with fireworks by a mob of Chinese New Year revelers in San Francisco.
The car became ‘confused’ as the fireworks stopped it dead in the road while the group of celebrators rallied around and destroyed the vehicle on Saturday around 9pm.
Police said the car was set ablaze by a mob and nobody was inside the vehicle at the time of the incident on Jackson Street in Chinatown.
Edwin Carungay, who came to town for the festivities, told ABC7: ‘They were putting out some rage for really no reason at all. They just wanted to vandalize something, and they did.’
There were dozens of people involved in the mayhem and multiple videos captured the bizarre moment. The San Francisco Police Department have not made any arrests yet and is still investigating, according to ABC7.
The Waymo taxi is seen stopped in the middle of Jackson Street as a mob of people vandalized the vehicle and set it on fire with a firework in San Francisco’s Chinatown on Saturday night
A herd of people are seen gathered around the bizarre scene as they celebrated the Chinese New Year as they recorded the moment on their phones
As the car drove through the busy crowd, Anirudh Koul, a witness at the scene, told KRON4 that the Waymo taxi ‘got stuck immediately in front.’
Waymo, which was formally known as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, started in 2009 and operates in Phoenix and San Francisco, with plans to expand to Los Angeles and Texas.
Waymo taxis are all-electric Jaguar-IPACE’s that are operated by their fifth-generation Waymo driver, or a programmed driver that is located in the hardware and software of each vehicle.
Similar to rideshares, the autonomous car can be ordered on their app, but in the Metro Phoenix area, rides come right away, while in San Francisco, a rider is notified when a vehicle is available.
The white car was seen stuck in the middle of the road as a mob of people crowded around it.
One video clip showed a rebellious person who hopped on the hood of the car as he jumped up, smashed the windshield, and landed back on the ground.
After that, another participant took his skateboard, slammed it into the car and added more cracks in the windshield. Graffiti was also drawn on the vehicle by people in the crowd.
A man repeatedly took his skateboard to the front windshield (left) after another man hopped on the hood of the car and jumped on the glass
Firefighters are seen putting out the massive blaze that consumed the driverless car. There were no passengers inside the vehicle at the time of the incident
It was then set on fire as another witness, Nathan Vandersteen, said that one person ‘threw a firework inside the car.’
‘Eventually people backed away. It was dangerous. The car could have exploded,’ Vandersteen said.
He added the rowdy crowd had a ‘mob mentality’ and that ‘young teenagers’ were ‘responsible for damage and vandalism.’
Firefighters soon responded to the car fire and managed to put out the flames.
Aaron Peskin, a San Francisco Supervisor, told ABC7: ‘It’s totally unacceptable, particularly horrific they did it during Chinatown’s most important day of the year, totally disrespectful.’
The driverless car company confirmed in a statement that there were no passengers inside at the time of the incident and that they are ‘working closely with local safety officials to respond to the situation.’
The car is seen with dripping black graffiti on its trunk and large, orange flames breaking through the windows. Police are investigating but no arrests have been made yet
The car was set on fire by a firework that somebody threw inside after it was vandalized. Fireworks are seen in the sky on Jackson Street in Chinatown- where the incident happened
Peskin revealed that police are working on collecting video footage from the scene to use as evidence.
‘They’ve got good leads. I’m hopeful, if not confident, that arrests will be made,’ Peskin said.
The police have urged anyone with information about the event or knowledge of those involved to contact them.
In a press release, London Breed, the Mayor of the Bay Area said the incident was ‘a dangerous and destructive act of vandalism.’
‘Chinatown is one of the densest neighborhoods in San Francisco, and any fire could explode and spread among tightly-packed buildings to endanger lives, home and businesses,’ Breed said.
‘It was an unacceptable act that has no place in our city, and we will work to hold those who committed it accountable.’
