Two teens detained in California after drinking, shooting toy guns out of Waymo robotaxi
by Brad Matthews · The Washington TimesWaymo halted one of its robotaxis mid-ride and called California cops after it caught two teen passengers drinking booze and shooting pellets from toy guns, police said.
The two 15-year-olds were riding in a Waymo in San Mateo, California, about 16 miles southeast of San Francisco on Monday. The San Mateo Police Department said the two were “shooting Orbeez from the car as they sipped on afternoon libations while being chauffeured around town,” which was reported to them by Waymo.
The police did not mention any injuries occurring as a result of the joyride. Orbeez are a brand of water-absorbent polymer bead that is small enough to fit into a water gun, BB gun or other imitation firearm.
After calling the cops on the two teens, neither of whom were publicly identified by police, Waymo remotely stopped its robotaxi until officers arrived to take the youths into custody.
“I’m not sure what led to them learning about what was going on in their vehicle, but once they had the information, they did contact us immediately. … They did say they were able to disable the vehicle and used a ruse to tell the passengers, ’Oh, the car is having trouble.’ So, we could set up and get into position,” San Mateo Police Officer Jeanine Luna told KGO-TV.
The police are now working with the San Mateo District Attorney’s Office and Waymo to see if the teens, who were released to their parents, should be charged with an open alcohol container violation or other offenses, according to KNTV-TV.
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Brad Matthews
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