{"schema_version":"0.10.0","id":"LR-2026-0820","record_version":2,"title":"Waymo robotaxi stalls at flooded San Diego street, trapping passenger","verification":{"human_verified":false,"method":"automated_gate","auto_verified":true,"score":54.8,"score_breakdown":{"source_authority":12.1,"independent_corroboration":7.0,"implicated_party_confirmed":0.0,"citation_integrity":14.0,"specificity":6.0,"completeness":8.0,"unhedged_language":5.0},"checks":{"schema_valid":true,"every_field_cited":true,"quotes_verbatim":true,"source_fetched":true,"distinct_incident":true,"dates_plausible":true,"sources_agree":true,"source_describes_incident":true,"severe_backed_by_source":true,"record_integrity":true,"eligible":true,"about_this_case":true},"gate_version":"gate-2026-10-18.7","cross_check_model":null,"cross_check_agreement":null,"duplicate_of":null,"verified_by":null,"verified_at":"2026-11-03","extraction_run_id":null,"evidence_level":{"level":"preliminary","reason":"Only a republished copy: AOL · subject to change","original_document":null,"reports_total":1,"reports_independent":0,"reports_derivative":1,"developing":true,"disputed":false,"rules_version":"evidence-2026-10-29.1","computed_at":"2026-11-03","history":[{"date":"2026-11-03","from_level":null,"to_level":"preliminary","reason":"Only a republished copy: AOL · subject to change"}]},"sources_hash":"c998696d80ff83c2d5e71ffc1f48fd8937d3d991a6b7a0d25366a498fd4d8639"},"system":{"model_name":null,"model_version":null,"developer":"Waymo","harness":"Waymo robotaxi (automated taxi)","tools_granted":[],"permissions_scope":"Public roads; autonomous driving of passengers","autonomy_level":"full-auto","guardrails_present":[],"deployment_context":"production","tier":"provider","lifecycle_stage":"production","integration_type":null,"intended_use":"Automated taxi service carrying passengers on public streets","safeguard_state":null,"production_intended":null},"event":{"date_occurred":"2026-10-29","date_disclosed":"2026-11-02","incident_class":"operational_error","failure_class":null,"agent_involved":true,"secondary_failure_classes":[],"trigger":"unknown","duration":null,"detection_method":"victim","summary":"A Waymo robotaxi carrying a female passenger in San Diego stopped and reversed when it met a flooded street, then idled in the left lane, keeping her confined inside.","tags":[],"date_detected":null,"near_miss":false,"root_cause":null,"root_cause_detail":null,"failure_class_detail":null,"responsible_party":"provider","adversarial_actor":"none","input_provenance":null,"time_to_contain":null,"operations_paused":null,"remediation":null,"precursor_events":null},"impact":{"direct_loss_usd":null,"remediation_hours":null,"records_exposed":null,"third_parties_affected_count":null,"severity":"minor","severity_because":"minor: The passenger was freed only when an officer manually drove the single robotaxi through the water; no third party loss is stated.","harm_class":["operational"],"affected_description":"A female passenger trapped inside a Waymo; other drivers forced to go around two stopped robotaxis","protected_class_involved":null,"data_categories_exposed":[],"loss_range_usd":null,"reversibility":"reversible","downstream_exposure_count":null},"evidence":{"sources":[{"url":"https://www.aol.com/articles/video-shows-woman-getting-stuck-200032000.html","publisher":"AOL.com","date":"2026-11-02","type":"press","title":"Video Shows Woman Getting Stuck Inside Waymo After It Fails to Handle an Ordinary Obstacle - AOL","archived_url":null,"attachment":"first_report","independence":"derivative"}],"per_field_confidence":{"system.harness":"C","system.permissions_scope":"D","system.tier":"D","system.lifecycle_stage":"D","system.intended_use":"C","system.developer":"C","system.autonomy_level":"D","system.deployment_context":"D","event.date_occurred":"C","event.near_miss":"D","event.responsible_party":"D","event.adversarial_actor":"D","event.agent_involved":"D","event.detection_method":"D","event.incident_class":"D","event.summary":"D","event.date_disclosed":"A","event.trigger":"D","impact.harm_class":"D","impact.affected_description":"C","impact.reversibility":"D","impact.severity":"D","context.industry":"C","context.denominator_available":"D","context.country":"C","impact.severity_because":"D"},"field_citations":{"system.developer":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo offers automated taxis that are generally safe and inexpensive, but they have been known to get stuck in situations that regular drivers deal with on a regular basis."}],"system.harness":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo offers automated taxis that are generally safe and inexpensive, but they have been known to get stuck in situations that regular drivers deal with on a regular basis."}],"system.intended_use":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo offers automated taxis that are generally safe and inexpensive, but they have been known to get stuck in situations that regular drivers deal with on a regular basis."}],"system.permissions_scope":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The robotaxi then sits idles in the left lane, keeping the woman inside and not giving her any option but to remain confined in the vehicle."}],"system.autonomy_level":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"It’s not until an officer arrives on the scene and is able to drive the vehicle manually through the water that the woman can continue her way to her destination."}],"system.deployment_context":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo offers automated taxis that are generally safe and inexpensive, but they have been known to get stuck in situations that regular drivers deal with on a regular basis."}],"system.lifecycle_stage":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo offers automated taxis that are generally safe and inexpensive, but they have been known to get stuck in situations that regular drivers deal with on a regular basis."}],"event.date_occurred":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Video shows a Waymo taxi refusing to drive through a flooded street in San Diego, causing a female passenger to be trapped inside, as posted by a hotel guest named Megan Schmidt on October 29."}],"event.detection_method":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Video shows a Waymo taxi refusing to drive through a flooded street in San Diego, causing a female passenger to be trapped inside, as posted by a hotel guest named Megan Schmidt on October 29."}],"event.incident_class":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The robotaxi then sits idles in the left lane, keeping the woman inside and not giving her any option but to remain confined in the vehicle."}],"event.agent_involved":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The footage shows the Waymo about to go through the road, but as it finds itself deeper in the water, the vehicle stops and promptly goes in reverse."}],"event.adversarial_actor":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Video shows a Waymo taxi refusing to drive through a flooded street in San Diego, causing a female passenger to be trapped inside, as posted by a hotel guest named Megan Schmidt on October 29."}],"event.responsible_party":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo offers automated taxis that are generally safe and inexpensive, but they have been known to get stuck in situations that regular drivers deal with on a regular basis."}],"event.near_miss":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The robotaxi then sits idles in the left lane, keeping the woman inside and not giving her any option but to remain confined in the vehicle."}],"event.summary":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The footage shows the Waymo about to go through the road, but as it finds itself deeper in the water, the vehicle stops and promptly goes in reverse."}],"impact.affected_description":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The video also shows another Waymo being unable to deal with the situation too, as other drivers are forced to go around both automated taxis that had effectively blocked a lengthy segment of the road’s left lane."}],"impact.reversibility":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"It’s not until an officer arrives on the scene and is able to drive the vehicle manually through the water that the woman can continue her way to her destination."}],"impact.harm_class":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The robotaxi then sits idles in the left lane, keeping the woman inside and not giving her any option but to remain confined in the vehicle."}],"context.industry":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo offers automated taxis that are generally safe and inexpensive, but they have been known to get stuck in situations that regular drivers deal with on a regular basis."}],"context.country":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Video shows a Waymo taxi refusing to drive through a flooded street in San Diego, causing a female passenger to be trapped inside, as posted by a hotel guest named Megan Schmidt on October 29."}],"impact.severity":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"It’s not until an officer arrives on the scene and is able to drive the vehicle manually through the water that the woman can continue her way to her destination."}],"impact.severity_because":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"It’s not until an officer arrives on the scene and is able to drive the vehicle manually through the water that the woman can continue her way to her destination."}],"event.date_disclosed":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"published: 2026-11-02"}]},"notes_on_gaps":"Only one source (press). event.trigger omitted: no source states a cause; the source's speculation about a May 2026 recall is not a stated cause. event.root_cause omitted for the same reason. event.failure_class null: no agent-mechanism taxonomy value is stated; the vehicle simply stopped. No loss figure, record count, third-party count, duration, containment time, remediation, notification or regulatory involvement is stated. system.model_name, model_version, tools_granted, guardrails_present, safeguard_state, integration_type, production_intended, org_size_band, denominator, systemic_exposure, coverage and incident_evidence are not stated. autonomy_level full-auto is inferred from the officer having to drive the vehicle manually; deployment_context production and lifecycle_stage production are inferred from the taxi service description. detection_method victim is inferred from the trapped passenger; the video was posted by a bystander. severity minor is a judgement: one deployer, no stated third-party loss. system.tier: provider by rule (the developer is named as the operator). [aggregated by deepseek-chat, aggregate-2026-09-27.1, 2026-11-03] system.permissions_scope: classified from described behaviour. system.lifecycle_stage: production. system.autonomy_level: a source states no person was in the loop while it ran (not: silence about a human is not a statement that none was there). system.deployment_context: production. event.near_miss: classified from described behaviour. event.responsible_party: provider. event.adversarial_actor: none. event.agent_involved: classified from described behaviour. event.detection_method: a source states the affected party noticed it first. event.incident_class: a source states data or a system was left in a wrong state, deleted, corrupted or acted on unintentionally, and names no adversary and no goal of the agent's own. event.summary: classified from described behaviour. event.trigger: no source states a cause. impact.harm_class: classified from described behaviour. impact.reversibility: reversible. context.denominator_available: no denominator is available for this incident."},"context":{"industry":"Ride-hailing / autonomous vehicle transportation","org_size_band":null,"country":"US","denominator_available":false,"denominator":null,"related_incident_ids":[],"systemic_exposure":null,"shared_model_id":null,"upstream_incident_id":null,"incident_evidence":null,"regulatory":null,"coverage":null},"narrative":{"steps":[{"step":"doing","text":"A Waymo robotaxi was carrying a female passenger through a flooded street in San Diego, driving autonomously with no human in the vehicle.","quote":"Video shows a Waymo taxi refusing to drive through a flooded street in San Diego, causing a female passenger to be trapped inside, as posted by a hotel guest named Megan Schmidt on October 29.","source_index":0,"grade":"C"},{"step":"went_wrong","text":"It stopped and reversed at the flooded road, then idled in the left lane instead of clearing the roadway, blocking traffic and trapping the passenger.","quote":"The robotaxi then sits idles in the left lane, keeping the woman inside and not giving her any option but to remain confined in the vehicle.","source_index":0,"grade":"C"},{"step":"reached","text":"The passenger stayed confined in the vehicle and two robotaxis blocked a lengthy segment of the road's left lane, forcing other drivers to go around.","quote":"The video also shows another Waymo being unable to deal with the situation too, as other drivers are forced to go around both automated taxis that had effectively blocked a lengthy segment of the road’s left lane.","source_index":0,"grade":"C"},{"step":"caught","text":"A hotel guest, Megan Schmidt, filmed the stuck Waymo and posted the video on October 29; the passenger herself was trapped inside.","quote":"Video shows a Waymo taxi refusing to drive through a flooded street in San Diego, causing a female passenger to be trapped inside, as posted by a hotel guest named Megan Schmidt on October 29.","source_index":0,"grade":"C"},{"step":"done","text":"An officer arrived and drove the vehicle manually through the water so the woman could continue; the article states no other containment, notification or control change.","quote":"It’s not until an officer arrives on the scene and is able to drive the vehicle manually through the water that the woman can continue her way to her destination.","source_index":0,"grade":"C"}],"model":"deepseek-chat","prompt_version":"aggregate-2026-09-27.1","extracted_at":"2026-11-03","source_urls":["https://www.aol.com/articles/video-shows-woman-getting-stuck-200032000.html"]}}