The new safety questions emerged after footage showed a self-driving vehicle briefly obstructing ambulance crews responding to Sunday’s deadly mass shooting in Austin. The incident unfolded around 2 a.m. near a busy entertainment district where a gunman killed three people and wounded 13 others. Authorities later confirmed first responders arrived within seconds despite the delay.
Video captured the Waymo vehicle stopped sideways in the roadway as an ambulance approached with flashing lights. The car appeared to move and stop intermittently while witnesses shouted for it to clear the street. Moments later, an Austin police officer entered the vehicle and drove it into a nearby garage to allow emergency crews to pass.
Waymo told Fox News Digital that one of its vehicles had been hailed for pickup when it detected a “road blockage and began executing a U-turn.” As the ambulance maneuvered nearby, the vehicle “briefly yielded and was assisted by a nearby officer.” The company described the episode as a learning opportunity for operating in dense urban settings.
Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz addressed the matter publicly. “[ATCEMS], as well as our fellow public safety partners, work very closely with the autonomous vehicle vendors that operate here in the city of Austin,” Luckritz said. He added, “We had more than 20 assets, resources that responded to this event. As said at an earlier press conference, we were on scene within 57 seconds. So in the grand scheme of the impact on the overall incident, we don’t believe it had any impact on patient outcomes.”
The shooting occurred outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden on West 6th Street. Authorities are investigating the attack as a potential act of terrorism.
