A Waymo Stopped for… a Ghost Pedestrian? Denver Drivers Want Answers

Two Denver drivers are scratching their heads — and filing insurance claims — after a Waymo robotaxi brought the whole situation to a screeching halt near West 8th Avenue and Delaware Street.

Here’s what happened: The unoccupied Waymo apparently slowed way down before making a sudden stop in a travel lane near Denver Health. One driver rear-ended another vehicle, which then plowed right into the back of the stopped robot car. Classic domino effect.

Waymo says the vehicle stopped to yield to a pedestrian. The two human drivers involved? They say they didn’t see a single soul crossing that street. Not one person. Zero.

Both drivers walked away with minor injuries and some pretty unhappy vehicles. Denver police cited one of the drivers.

Look, we’re all for pedestrian safety — truly. But if your self-driving car is stopping for pedestrians that nobody else can see, that’s a you problem, Waymo.

The bigger question remains: Who’s responsible when a driverless car causes a chain-reaction crash? Because “the algorithm did it” isn’t exactly going to hold up at the body shop.

Denver police are still investigating. And somewhere out there, that mystery pedestrian remains at large