Look, Ma, no hands!
Three boys turned a Waymo ride into a wind-in-their-hair joyride late Friday afternoon in Santa Monica.
Local resident Rojia Shahsavani, who was out around 6 p.m. tackling errands, said she witnessed three pre-teen to teen boys taking selfies and sitting on the open window ledges of a white Waymo as the driverless vehicle traveled from Santa Monica into West L.A.
“I came across the Waymo a car or two in front of me in the left-hand lane when I saw these kids start crawling out of the car,” Shahsavani told The Times. “I didn’t focus much on them at first because I thought they were just going to take a quick picture and get back in their car, which they didn’t do.”
Shahsavani took several photos of the incident, which was first reported by ABC7. She said she encountered the vehicle at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and 26th Street.
At first, it was just the two boys in the backseat who sat on the window ledge as it proceeded eastbound, according to Shahsavani, who estimated the pair were 12 to 14 years old.
Then the youngest of the trio, the front-seat passenger, whom Shahsavani believed was closer to 10, joined the duo in sitting on the window opening as the vehicle passed Stewart Street.
That’s when Shahsavani said she pulled up alongside the vehicle and attempted to tell the boys to “sit back down.”
Yet the message wasn’t easily received.
“They ignored me, and one of them said he only spoke Italian,” she said. “You don’t have to understand English to understand what I was saying.”
Shahsavani said she then decided to call Waymo customer service as the vehicle crossed Bundy Drive, making its way from Santa Monica into West Los Angeles.
The kids, meanwhile, took selfies, while one appeared to be holding a red canister.
Shahsavani said she quickly reached a Waymo agent, who told her the company had the ability to stop the car should it determine a threat. Shahsavani said Waymo told her several cameras could monitor the situation.
“We kept passing intersections, and the car kept going,” she said. “I kept waiting for Waymo to stop the car, and they kept telling me, ‘It’s not the right place to stop the car.’”
A Times inquiry to Waymo media relations was not returned. Lt. Lewis Gilmour, Santa Monica police public information officer, said his department had received no calls or reports about the incident. He said any witnesses should contact the department at (310) 458-8491.
Shahsavani said she grew more concerned as the speed limit increased along with the number of cars on the road.
“From Bundy [Drive] to Barrington [Avenue], everyone was going between 30 to 35 miles per hour,” she said. “Then around Sepulveda [Boulevard], traffic picked up and drivers were going faster, and then the number of lanes opened up to four.”
Shahsavani followed behind until the Waymo turned right in the area of Rancho Park and Cheviot Hills, the kids still hanging out the windows.
She said she was speaking up because any number of people could have been hurt, including the boys, other drivers or bystanders.
“Listen, I’m all for technology and innovation, but I didn’t think Waymo was all that concerned about what was happening and the misuse of the car,” Shahsavani said. “As technology becomes more common, public safety has to evolve and catch up.”
