Overview
- Kit Kat, a neighborhood cat known as the “Mayor of 16th Street,” was run over by a Waymo self-driving taxi near Randa’s Market shortly before midnight on October 27.
- Waymo said the cat darted under the vehicle as it was pulling away and issued a statement expressing sympathy to the owner and community.
- Residents created a memorial at the site, and nearby signs both criticize Waymo and note that hundreds of animals are killed each year by human drivers in the city.
- Fielder introduced a city resolution urging the state Legislature to allow local voters to decide whether driverless cars can operate in their neighborhoods, a power now held at the state level.
- Public worry about autonomous-vehicle risks is mounting, as reflected in a Los Angeles Times letter that cites a 2023 Cruise case in which a pedestrian was dragged before the car stopped.