Cruise robotaxi collides with San Francisco firetruck headed to an emergency

A Cruise robotaxi collided with a firetruck late Thursday in San Francisco, injuring the vehicle’s passenger.

The autonomous-driving company, a subsidiary of General Motors Co., reported the crash in a series of social media posts Friday.

“One of our cars entered the intersection on a green light and was struck by an emergency vehicle that appeared to be en route to an emergency scene,” the company posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. The accident occurred shortly after 10 p.m. in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, Cruise said.

“Our car contained one passenger who was treated on scene and transported via ambulance for what we believe are non-severe injuries,” the company said.

The incident raises questions about why the vehicle did not know to stop for an emergency vehicle, and why it did not notice through traffic while crossing an intersection.

A video by San Francisco’s local ABC network showed the vehicle as a firetruck. The San Francisco Fire Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

Last week, California’s Public Utilities Commission voted 3 to 1 to allow Cruise and Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo to increase the areas of the city where they can operate autonomous vehicles without a safety driver, and charge riders a fare for it.