San Francisco

Cruise faces backlash after self-driving car appears to block crews responding to SF's Mission District shooting

NBC Universal, Inc.

Self-driving car company Cruise is facing criticism after one of its vehicles appeared to get in the way of first responders in San Francisco's Mission District Friday night.

The video of the incident, taken by San Francisco resident Paul Valdez was posted on Twitter. It showed a self-driving car stopping in the middle of the road near 24th and Folsom streets, a short distance from the scene of Friday’s mass shooting.

The shooting in the Mission left nine people hurt. San Francisco police called the incident "targeted and isolated."

San Francisco-based Cruise responded to the Tweet with the following statement Saturday:

"Like all of us in San Francisco, we are saddened by this tragic event in our home city. Our thoughts are with the victims and families and we wish them all a full recovery.

Our car initially stopped as it was approaching an active emergency scene, then proceeded to perform a U-turn and pull over. Throughout this time, all vehicles, including emergency response vehicles, were able to proceed around our car.

We’re thankful to all our first responders for helping to keep us safe during situations like this and are committed to working collaboratively with them."

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