An investigation has determined that a rear-end crash involving a self-driving minivan last month in Tempe happened while the vehicle was in manual mode.
According to Speedluxe Automotive News, the accident happened on Thursday, January 30th, when another vehicle that was driving erratically swerved in front of a Waymo, self-driving minivan. The sedan applied its brakes aggressively, eventually slowing to a stop on a 45 mile per hour stretch of road.
The driver of the Waymo van attempted to avoid a crash but instead rear-ended the other car.
A spokesperson for the self-driving vehicle company, Waymo, said in a statement that the crash was the direct result of the other driver’s reckless driving behavior.
Sara Soldo with the Tempe Police Department said in an email that a female driver of the Waymo vehicle who had been alone inside the minivan at the time of the accident. The driver had been hospitalized for non-life-threatening neck injuries that she suffered in the crash. She was later released from the hospital.
The driver of the sedan was uninjured.
Police investigators found no sign of impairment on the part of either driver. Soldo told reporters that video footage taken from the Waymo vehicle is being reviewed before its eventual future public release. So far, no citations for either driver have been issued.
The crash is still currently under investigation.
