Passengers riding in a Waymo robotaxi were left shaken after the autonomous vehicle headed into active fireworks on a San Francisco street during Fourth of July celebrations over the weekend.
Video from the scene shows the riders reacting in alarm as the driverless car appears to roll toward lit fireworks placed in the roadway moments before they begin firing.
As the vehicle nears the display, a person standing in the street can be seen gesturing with a hand in an apparent attempt to get it to stop.
Passengers in a Waymo vehicle were alarmed when the autonomous car drove into lit fireworks in the middle of a San Francisco street during Independence Day festivities. (Rose Peterson via Storyful)
“No, no, no, don’t go, don’t go, don’t go,” one passenger can be heard saying from inside the vehicle.
The Waymo vehicle then continues forward, moving over the bright flames and bursts of sparks.
“Our Waymo just drove into a firework,” a passenger says in the video.
A Waymo vehicle is seen idling at an intersection where traffic lights were not operating because of power outages in San Francisco on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (Jeff Chiu/AP Photo)
“Are we on fire, dude?” a fellow passenger asks.
A Waymo spokesperson told INC News that the company “is committed to keeping our riders safe and earning the trust of the communities where we operate.”
“We take situations like this seriously and are committed to evaluating and learning from these events,” the statement continued.
No injuries were reported to either the passengers or the vehicle, and the company reached out to the riders after their trip. The possession of fireworks, even “Safe and Sane” explosives, is illegal in San Francisco, the city’s fire department said.
One woman was killed and two other adults and a child were injured Saturday in a separate fireworks explosion, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Elsewhere in San Francisco, some Waymo vehicles were towed when their batteries died after vehicles became stuck in traffic for hours.
“Our priority is keeping San Francisco moving safely, especially during major city celebrations,” the Waymo spokesperson said. “On the Fourth of July, extreme traffic congestion in northern San Francisco disrupted normal operations for several Waymo vehicles.”
“In coordination with local authorities and emergency services, our roadside assistance team worked quickly to clear our vehicles from the area,” the statement continued.
