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The residents of San Francisco have not always shown kindness towards Waymo’s expanding fleet of self-driving cabs. The driverless vehicles, which offer tens of thousands of trips each week, have been set on fire, damaged, and verbally attacked in recent periods. Now, Waymo is responding—in the legal arena.
This month, the tech company from Silicon Valley launched a duo of legal actions, previously unreported, seeking significant financial compensation from two suspected vandals. Legal representatives for Waymo stated in court documents that the alleged vandalism, resulting in numerous damaged tires and rear tail, poses a substantial risk to the company’s image. Riding in a vehicle with an auto-swiveling steering wheel can already be unnerving. The additional concern of potential attackers aiming at the rides could sabotage Waymo’s ride-hailing business at a critical early stage.
Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, runs a ride-hailing service in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles akin to Uber and Lyft, but with cutting-edge sensors and software controlling the vehicle. Despite no known fatal accidents involving its cars, U.S. regulators are still examining their occasionally erratic driving behavior. Sandy Karp, a spokesperson for Waymo, emphasizes the company’s unwavering commitment to safety, with the lawsuits being a reflection of that commitment. She declined to provide further insights on the matter for this narrative.
In a recent filing in the San Francisco County Superior Court, Waymo filed a lawsuit against a driver of a Tesla Model 3, accused of deliberately rear-ending one of its autonomous Jaguar crossovers. According to the complaint, the driver, Konstantine Nikka-Sher Piterman, allegedly posted on X stating, “Waymo just wrecked me,” and proceeded to solicit employment from Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The second lawsuit filed this month in the same court targets Ronaile Burton, suspected of slashing the tires of at least 19 Waymo vehicles. Burton faces criminal charges brought by San Francisco prosecutors, to which she has pleaded not guilty. An upcoming hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
Adam Birka-White, representing Burton as a public defender, emphasized that Burton requires assistance, not confinement, and criticized the prosecution’s focus on penalizing individuals in favor of corporate interests, particularly involving a technology company under federal investigation for posing hazards on public streets.
No legal representation for Burton has been identified in court documents, and as Burton is currently incarcerated, attempts to reach her for comments have been unsuccessful. Piterman has not responded to voicemails, LinkedIn messages, or emails requesting input and has not responded to the accusations in court.
Based on available court records from San Francisco and Phoenix, it seems there have been no prior instances of Waymo filing similar lawsuits.
In the case involving the Tesla, Piterman allegedly accelerated past a stop sign and crashed into a Waymo vehicle in San Francisco on March 19, according to Waymo’s lawsuit. Subsequently, when the Waymo vehicle attempted to pull over, Piterman reportedly rammed the Tesla into it again. He purportedly entered the Waymo vehicle and later made threats towards a Waymo representative present at the scene. San Francisco law enforcement cited Piterman, as outlined in the lawsuit. WIRED’s attempts to obtain comments from the police remain unanswered.
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