Denver drivers question Waymo behavior after chain-reaction crash
Two drivers are questioning why a Waymo stopped in a travel lane Thursday before a chain-reaction crash near Denver Health.
The crash happened around 2:36 p.m. near West 8th Avenue and Delaware Street. Denver police said a driver traveling westbound on 8th Avenue struck another vehicle, pushing that vehicle into the back of a stopped, unoccupied Waymo. Police described the impact with the Waymo as a secondary collision.
Mark Kibler was driving the van directly behind the Waymo.
"This is my first time being near one," Kibler said.
Waymo began testing its autonomous vehicles in Denver with human specialists behind the wheel before announcing in July that it was preparing to begin fully autonomous operations without a human specialist.
Kibler said the Waymo was traveling slowly ahead of him on 8th Avenue before coming to a stop as it approached Delaware Street.
"It just stopped! In the middle of the road! It just stopped," Kibler said. "No traffic, nothing. No people walking across the street. It just stopped."
Kibler managed to stop his van before it hit the Waymo. He said cars were passing to go around. He initially thought someone was driving the vehicle and even honked his horn. Seconds later, Alfredo Arrieta was approaching from behind.
"I look up, and my airbags are going off," Arrieta said.
Police say Arrieta's car struck the back of Kibler's van, pushing the van into the Waymo.
No one was inside the autonomous vehicle.
"Insane. Like, why are you stopped?" Arrieta said. "It's a self-driving car on a busy street, but you're stopped, not even at an intersection. There's no stop sign anywhere."
There is no stop sign, traffic signal or marked crosswalk where the drivers said the Waymo stopped.
On Thursday evening, Waymo provided CBS Colorado with additional information about what its vehicle detected before the crash.
A Waymo spokesperson said the autonomous vehicle steadily slowed as it approached the intersection and came to a complete stop to yield to a pedestrian waiting on the curb to cut across the street. Waymo said the pedestrian subsequently crossed the street without incident.
Kibler maintains he did not see anyone crossing the street when the Waymo stopped.
The drivers were left with minor injuries and damaged vehicles. Arrieta was also cited by Denver police.
"Like, how do I explain this to my insurance?" he said.
"Now I call a lawyer and let them take care of it," Kibler said.
Denver police told CBS Colorado the department has no record of another crash involving a Waymo vehicle in Denver. The company said it cooperated fully with Denver police at the scene. Denver police continue to investigate the cause of the initial collision.
