Overview
- Viral bystander video shows a driverless Waymo stopped crosswise on West Sixth Street as an ambulance approached near Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden.
- An Austin police officer engaged the vehicle and helped move it, and Waymo says the car had identified a road blockage, begun a U-turn, then briefly yielded.
- Austin-Travis County EMS says units reached the scene within 57 seconds and reports no material impact on patient care from the incident.
- Authorities say three people, including the gunman, were killed and 14 injured, and the FBI is examining a potential terrorism nexus.
- The episode renews scrutiny of Waymo’s operations after prior incidents and ongoing federal probes, as the company expands ride-hail service in Texas and maintains first-responder training and action plans required under state law.