A deadly, multi-car collision in San Francisco on Sunday evening marks the first time in the U.S. that a truly autonomous vehicle, with no one in the driver’s seat, has been involved in a fatal collision, according to federal transportation records. A self-driving Waymo car, which is not being blamed for the crash, was among six vehicles struck when a fast-moving vehicle slammed into a line of car stopped at a traffic light at the corner of 6th and Harrison Streets, about a mile south of the city’s famed Union Square. While the Waymo was empty, a passenger in one of the other struck vehicles and a dog were killed. Several others also suffered injuries, according to the San Francisco Police Department. An unoccupied Waymo vehicle operating autonomously was in a line of stand-still traffic when it was struck from behind by a vehicle that was impacted by another vehicle traveling at an extreme rate of speed. Waymo spokesperson “An unoccupied Waymo vehicle operating autonomously was in a line of stand-still traffic when it was struck from behind by a vehicle that was impacted by another vehicle traveling at an extreme rate of speed,” a Waymo spokesperson wrote in a statement.  “The trust and safety of our community remain our top priority, and we are coordinating with local safety officials.” NHTSA tracks frequency of driverless car collisions, but not who’s at fault The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires self-driving car companies, like Waymo, to report each time their vehicles are involved in an accident, regardless of whether the autonomous vehicle was at fault.  According to NHTSA, which began collecting such data in July 2021, Waymo’s driverless vehicles have been involved in about 30 different collisions resulting in some type of injury.  Waymo, however, has noted that nearly all those crashes, like Sunday’s collision, were the fault of other cars driven by humans.  While NHTSA’s crash data doesn’t note whether self-driving vehicles may have been to blame, Waymo has previously noted that it only expects to pay out insurance liability claims for two previous collisions involving its driverless vehicles that resulted in injuries. In December, Waymo touted the findings of its latest safety analysis, which determined its fleet of driverless cars continue to outperform human drivers across major safety metrics.  The report, authored by Waymo and its partners at the Swiss Reinsurance Company, reviewed insurance claim data to explore how often human drivers and autonomous vehicles are found to be liable in car collisions. According to the study, Waymo’s self-driving vehicles faced about 90% fewer insurance claims relating to property damage and bodily injuries compared to human drivers. Another self-driving car was also involved in a fatal wreck in 2018 While Sunday’s collision marks the first fatal crash involving a driverless car, it was nearly seven years ago when another autonomous vehicle was involved in a deadly collision with a pedestrian, though that self-driving car had a human safety driver behind the wheel.  The accident, which occurred in March 2018, involved an autonomous car from Uber, which sold off its self-driving division two years later to a competitor.  The car struck and killed a pedestrian who was jaywalking at about 10pm. In a 2019 report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board, investigators cited an “inadequate safety culture” at Uber, and noted “inadequate safety risk assessment procedures, ineffective oversight of vehicle operators, and [a] lack of adequate mechanisms for addressing operators’ automation complacency.” Other contributing factors, according to the NTSB, included drugs being found in the pedestrian’s system and the “failure of the vehicle operator to monitor the driving environment and the operation of the automated driving system because she was visually distracted throughout the trip by her personal cell phone.” Waymo’s self-driving cars first hit public roadways, without anyone in the driver’s seat, back in 2015. The company’s fleet of autonomous vehicles have traveled more than 33 million miles and have provided more than five million rides across San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin.  San Francisco alone is home to about 300 driverless Waymo vehicles, though they’re not all on the road at the same time. In California, there are more than 30 companies currently permitted by the DMV to test driverless cars on the open road.  While most are still required to have safety drivers sitting in the front seat who can take over when needed, Waymo remains the only fleet of robotaxis in California to move past the state’s testing phase to, now, regularly offer paid rides to passengers. Watch our entire investigative series Part 1: Driverless cars seek San Francisco expansion despite worries tech is unsafe Part 2: CPUC votes to expand driverless car operations in San Francisco Part 3: San Francisco city attorney files motion to pump the brakes on driverless cars Part 4: Google’s Waymo says insurance data shows its driverless cars are safer than humans Part 5: Hit-and-run driver strikes pedestrian, tossing her into path of Cruise car in San Francisco Part 6: Driverless trucks and robot deliveries promise fewer traffic jams than robotaxis Part 7: Cruise says its robotaxis can now better detect emergency vehicles Part 8: California DMV orders Cruise’s driverless cars off the road Part 9: Driverless cars immune from traffic tickets in California under current laws Part 10: GM’s Cruise lays off nearly 25% of its workforce Part 11: Waymo’s driverless cars surpass 7 million miles, but are they safer than human drivers? Part 12: Cruise probe blames poor internet, bad leadership, and “flawed” decisions for company’s woes Part 13: Driverless Cruise car accused of almost hitting 7 yr old after similar close call involving kids Part 14: Cruise offers to pay $112,500 in fines to settle claims driverless car company misled regulators Part 15: Uber Eats now uses Waymo Self-Driving cars to offer driverless deliveries Part 16: Bills aimed at closing traffic ticket loophole for driverless cars get initial green light Part 17: School crossing guards say they’ve had to dodge driverless cars to avoid being hit Part 18: Cruise ordered to pay $112,500 in penalties for withholding info from regulators Part 19: Waymo waitlist over in SF, all can hail driverless cars Part 20: SF Mayor vows to hold driverless car companies accountable after NBC Bay Area report Part 21: San Francisco govt. officials meet with Waymo to discuss safety concerns near schools Part 22: California DMV gears up to allow driverless trucking despite calls to restrict high-tech big rigs Part 23: Cruise to abandon robotaxi business after tumultuous year Part 24: Waymo’s robotaxis surpass 25 million miles, but are they safer than humans? Part 25: Waymo robotaxi rear-ended in fatal multi-car collision in San Francisco Part 26: Multi-car wreck slams into Waymo, marks first time a driverless car is involved in deadly collision Contact The Investigative Unit submit tips | 1-888-996-TIPS | e-mail Bigad Follow @BigadShaban on social media Bigad Shaban