Waymo blocks Dallas road as first responders rush to explosion

RAW: Dallas Waymo blocks road after explosion

Body camera video from a Dallas County constable shows him physically moving a stalled Waymo vehicle that was blocking the roadway following a deadly apartment explosion and fire.

DALLAS – Newly released body camera video following an apartment explosion shows a Dallas County deputy constable trying to move a Waymo vehicle that appeared to be blocking the way of first responders.

Waymo blocks Dallas firefighters

What we know:

The body camera video that was released to the public on Thursday shows what happened in the moments following a natural gas explosion and five-alarm fire that killed three people and injured five others. 

Dallas County Precinct 5 Deputy Constable Jonathan Banda found the empty Waymo partially blocking the route fire trucks needed to take to get to the burning apartment building.

With no driver behind the wheel, the deputy constable had to get inside the vehicle to clear the street so emergency crews could reach the scene.

What they’re saying:

In the video, Deputy Constable Banda can be heard trying to get the car to move.

“You’ve got to get out the way,” he said. “Go forward. Go!”

After pressing a button for rider support, he talked to a Waymo employee who told him the “system seems to be having a minor issue.”

“If I can manually move it, I’ll move it,” Banda told him. “Come on man, we need you to move it.”

The Waymo employee ultimately unlocked the vehicle, allowing Banda to get in and drive the vehicle to a safe location.

“I knew I had to clear the way for the firefighters coming in. I could hear the sirens coming in,” Banda told FOX 4. “He released it to me and, at that point, another engine was coming down the street with the hoses they needed to deploy out there.”

The other side:

In a statement, Waymo gave credit to the law enforcement officer for working with its employee.

“Safety is fundamental to everything we do, and that includes how our vehicles are designed to interact with law enforcement and first responders. In this instance, the vehicle was in the process of completing a three-point turn to leave the area like other cars were doing.  While the vehicle was yielding to other traffic passing by, the police officer approached the vehicle. While the officer was engaging with our vehicle and our remote assistance team, the street remained clear and other vehicles passed by unimpeded. We remain committed to working closely with Dallas law enforcement and first responders to ensure they have the tools, training, and information they need,” the company said in a statement.

Waymo also said it has a team dedicated to ensuring first responders are trained on how to engage with the vehicles in an emergency situation.

Dallas Apartment Explosion

The backstory:

The explosion and massive fire happened last Thursday at The Clyde apartments, located near the corner of East 9th Street and North Patton Avenue.

Three people were killed, including Collins, Marisol Perez, and Perez’s 18-month-old son, Erick. Five others were hospitalized.

Images from SKY 4 showed the 22-unit apartment building fully engulfed in flames. The windows on neighboring buildings appeared to be blown out and debris was scattered across the street. There also appeared to be a utility truck that was affected by the fire.

Neighbors said they heard a loud boom, and they felt their own apartments shake before a large plume of black smoke rise high into the Dallas sky.

At peak, there were more than 100 firefighters at the scene of the five-alarm fire.

Officials confirmed a gas leak was reported just before the explosion.

Atmos also said a construction crew not related to the company damaged a pipeline.