A self-driving Waymo car blocked the street as first responders rushed to the scene of last week’s Oak Cliff apartment explosion, body camera footage shows.
In the video, first obtained by FOX 4 Dallas and verified by KERA News, Dallas County Deputy Constable Jonathan Banda can be seen approaching the empty Waymo as it sits sideways in the street.
He repeatedly tells the car to "go forward," even reaching into the car to grab the steering wheel before the car begins to connect to driver support.
The car eventually connects to an assistant who begins speaking through the car's speakers.
"You need to move this car ASAP, please," Banda said. "There's a fire around the corner, you need to move this car."
"One second," the assistant responded.
The car sits for more than 30 seconds before the assistant said the system seemed to be having an issue. Banda said he would manually move the car, but the assistant replied he needs the officer's agency and badge number first.
"Come on, man, we need you to move it," Banda said before hopping in the car and pulling it out of the street.
The entire interaction took about three-and-a-half minutes.
Waymo told KERA in a statement "safety is fundamental to everything we do."
"In this instance, the vehicle was in the process of completing a three-point turn to leave the area like other cars were doing. While the vehicle was yielding to other traffic passing by, the police officer approached the vehicle. While the officer was engaging with our vehicle and our remote assistance team, the street remained clear and other vehicles passed by unimpeded. We remain committed to working closely with Dallas law enforcement and first responders to ensure they have the tools, training, and information they need."
A similar incident occurred in March when a Waymo blocked an ambulance that was responding to a deadly shooting in Austin.
What do we know about the Oak Cliff apartment gas explosion?
Dallas fire officials said that a fire crew arrived on the scene within two minutes of a gas leak being reported at the property. After the first responders went through standard set-up procedures and were about to enter the apartment, it exploded.
The resulting fire quickly escalated to a five-alarm fire, requiring more than 100 firefighters at its peak.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading an investigation into what caused the explosion. But initial reports point to the explosion’s cause as a gas leak from a damaged underground pipeline.
Geoff Henley, an attorney representing the apartment owner, previously told KERA a prospective buyer of the property, O-SDA Industries, commissioned Engineering Consultant Services to conduct drilling on the property for soil testing. Another company, Barba Drilling, was at the property drilling just before the damaged gas leak was reported. A truck for the company was seen outside the apartment on the day of the explosion.
ECS said Texas 811 — the notification center companies are required by law to call before drilling to locate utility lines — reported the utility company marked the property before drilling.
The explosion killed three: 37-year-old Marisol Perez, her infant son and Democratic activist Sylvia Collins.
Collins’ daughter sued the natural gas company Atmos and others related to the property for "gross negligence," leading up to the explosion.
A KERA News analysis of data from the Texas Railroad Commission showed more than 4,800 liquid or gas pipelines have been damaged by excavators and homeowners this year alone.
Some cases showed pipelines were damaged due improper locating.
Dylan Duke is KERA's Breaking News Reporter. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at dduke@kera.org.
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