Waymo among vehicles hit in deadly 7-car crash in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO - At least one person has died after a car crash involving seven vehicles collided in San Francisco on Sunday evening.

One of the cars was a Waymo, an autonomous driving vehicle. A spokesperson for Waymo said the car was unoccupied.

According to the Waymo spokesperson, their car was struck by another car while it was in "stand-still traffic."

"An unoccupied Waymo vehicle operating autonomously was in a line of stand-still traffic when it was struck from behind by a vehicle that was impacted by another vehicle traveling at an extreme rate of speed. The trust and safety of our community remains our top priority, and we are coordinating with local safety officials," a Waymo spokesperson said.

According to the San Francisco Fire Department, at least eight people were involved in the car crash on Sixth Street between Bryant and Harrison Streets. 

"It was like a sonic boom, and car pieces ricocheted everywhere," said Darius Davis who was nearby at the time. 

San Francisco police added that a dog was among the dead. One of the drivers is being detained by police as they investigate the crash. 

Crews were notified around 6:10 p.m. about the crash.

"I was listening to the EMT scanner and they were just calling and calling and calling for like backup medics and ambulances. It was just really bad," said Bonnie Pittock, who lives down the street from where the crash happened.

Officials said the surviving victims are being evaluated by paramedics. 

"It is a tragedy to lose someone on our streets, and our thoughts are with all those affected and their families. We hope those injured will make a full recovery," San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said about the incident. "Public safety has been my top priority from day one, and traffic safety is public safety."

What we don't know:

The severity of injuries of the other victims are unknown. Officials said it's unclear if drugs or alcohol played a part in the collision. 

Additionally, the California Highway Patrol is investigating a separate incident of four hit-and-runs on northbound Interstate 280 moments earlier to see if they are related.

CHP said that the accident involved a black Tesla and that the victims in the hit-and-runs had minor injuries. However, they are still working to see if the crashes are related. 

A black Tesla was also involved in the crash on Sixth Street.