Baby Born in Waymo Taxi in San Francisco

A pregnant woman in San Francisco gave birth inside a driverless Waymo taxi on Monday while en route to the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, in an unexpected demonstration of the vehicle's reliability during a medical emergency.

The woman, experiencing labor pains, hailed the autonomous vehicle operated by Alphabet subsidiary Waymo to reach the hospital. As contractions intensified during the ride, she delivered the baby in the back seat before arriving at the destination. Waymo's rider support team detected unusual activity inside the vehicle through its sensors and internal monitoring systems. The team promptly contacted the passenger to assess her condition and alerted emergency services by calling 911. The taxi continued its route safely, delivering the mother and newborn to the medical center ahead of responding paramedics.

A spokesperson for UCSF confirmed that both the mother and baby were admitted and reported to be in good health. The mother was not available for comment. Waymo removed the vehicle from service immediately after the incident for a thorough cleaning and sanitization.

In a statement, Waymo described the event as rare but noted it was...