Plus: It was a tragic weekend for sudden San Francisco deaths … and a local telehealth founder donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.
Waymo’s monopoly on the autonomous driving space in San Francisco is unmatched. With the shuttering of General Motors Cruise operation — though the company has promised to consolidate all its self-driving technologies and efforts into one umbrella entity at a later time; Cruise is still available as a driver-assist and self-driving feature in many GM vehicles — only Zoox is vying for any sizeable public market share with its autonomy toasters.
Over the weekend, a seven-vehicle pile-up in San Francisco killed 27-year-old software engineer Mikhael Romanenko and one dog and left seven other victims injured. The Waymo, which was rear-ended in the collision, was transporting one individual; the rider was injured but not severely maimed.
According to the San Francisco Police Department, officers responded to a call about a crash in the area of 6th and Harrison streets at about 6:08 p.m. Sunday night. Officers pronounced one person and one dog dead upon arrival. Six vehicles were deemed struck by another vehicle, which, as of publishing, is suspected to be a Tesla Model Y.
The area which was just off the Interstate 80 connector heading toward the Bay Bridge, is notoriously dangerous. Officers at the site also noted that the Tesla must’ve been traveling at high speeds and the collisions showed “a lot of energy” was produced by the crash.
As cars become more electrified, the battery packs they contain add incredible amounts of deadly weight to these vehicles. For context, the Tesla Model Y suspected of causing the pile-up weighs around 4,400 pounds, as is — sans a driver or any items inside the car. By comparison, a four-door Honda Civic weighs just shy of 3,000 pounds in most trim levels — over 30% less than a comparable Tesla Model Y. Study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that adding1,000 pounds to the average passenger vehicle resulted in a 47% increase in causing a fatality in crashes over 40mph; a Tesla Model Y, much like most battery-only vehicles, weighs well over 1,000 pounds more than the average four-door sedan.
While Waymo is not to be blamed for causing the car pile-up — the investigation into the crash by the SFPD is ongoing — it does represent for the first time a driverless vehicle was involved in a fatal crash in America.
What else transpired over the weekend? Let’s take a look.
- A beloved San Francisco chef died suddenly. 62-year-old Charles Phan was the visionary chef behind San Francisco’s Slanted Door restaurant and popularized a new style of modern California-Vietnamese cuisine … Phan tragically and unexpectedly passed away over the weekend. More info.
- A father and son died after a harrowing water rescue. A 39-year-old father and his 8-year-old boy required rescue near Cowell Ranch Beach in San Mateo County on Sunday afternoon; upon rescue, they were later pronounced dead after being transported to a nearby hospital. More info.
- Of course the founder of an SF-based company that sells erectile dysfunction medication donated to Trump’s second inauguration. Hims & Hers Health founded by Andrew Dudum, founder of the telehealth company His & Hers, apparently gave a big ol’ $1 million to Donald Trump’s inauguration fund — perhaps in a bid to help secure his company’s survival amid a possible RFK Jr.-ran FDA that could well see companies like his hindered, hobbled, or outlawed. More info.
Feature image: Courtesy of KRON4
