Police in Los Angeles have arrested a man after he attempted to steal a self-driving Waymo test vehicle last Saturday evening. He now faces a charge of attempted grand theft auto.
Waymo is one of the few companies permitted to operate a driverless robotaxi service in Los Angeles. Just after one of the Waymo Jaguar I-Pace robotaxis dropped off a passenger in downtown LA, 33-year-old Vincent Maurice climbed into the driver’s seat and tried to steal the car. It didn’t go to plan.
The Los Angeles Police Department says that Maurice attempted to put the vehicle into drive but was unable to do so. A Waymo employee spoke with the 33-year-old through the I-Pace’s online communication system and told him to leave the vehicle. Police were called when Maurice refused to get out of the Jaguar and he was swiftly taken into custody.
“An unauthorized pedestrian entered one of our vehicles Saturday night in Los Angeles as a rider was exiting,” Waymo said in a statement issued to NBC News. “After communicating with the individual and instructing them to exit the vehicles, our Rider Support team contacted the police, who were then able to remove and arrest them.”
Read: Waymo Robotaxi Hits Cyclist In San Francisco, Keeps The Spirit Of Cruise Alive
The incident comes at a time when there is growing discontent among many Californian residents about the number of autonomous vehicles being tested on local roads. In February, a crowd of vandals set one of Waymo’s I-Pace test vehicles alight while it was driving through Chinatown. Local fire crews responded to the blaze but not before the electric crossover was destroyed. Earlier in the same month, a Waymo test vehicle hit a cyclist in San Francisco, but fortunately, the rider only suffered minor scratches and did not need to be transported to hospital.
