Waymo killed KitKat. California neighborhood mourns a corner-store cat

San Francisco has been mourning the decease of KitKat, a beloved corner-store feline who died aft being struck by a Waymo robotaxi past week.

KitKat graced the counters of Randa’s Market connected 16th Street, adjacent the historical Roxie Theater successful the Mission District. KitKat was archetypal introduced connected the store’s Instagram leafage six years ago, rapidly winning implicit the hearts of customers. He wasn’t a surly oregon suspicious feline — helium could beryllium seen playing with someone’s dangling hoodie drawstrings; snoozing successful beforehand of shelves with liquor bottles; curling up wrong a cardboard container marked with his name; greeting the vicinity dogs; adjacent dressing up arsenic Santa Claus.

He changeable to fame during the COVID-19 pandemic’s archetypal year. Not lone was helium posted connected the @bodegacatsofinstagram relationship (which present has much than 500,000 followers), but helium besides won a notation successful a quality communicative connected beloved store cats. “The ambiance successful the store decidedly changed aft KitKat arrived,” Daniel Zeidan, the store owner’s son, told SFGate. Not lone did helium get treats from customers, but besides “someone precocious brought him a broad truthful helium would enactment lukewarm successful the winter.”

More recently, helium was caught curled up dormant connected his ain heating pad.

He adjacent made appearances successful the next-door bar, Dalva, wherever his accomplishment felt similar “the president had arrived, making their rounds, shaking hands and charming everyone,” said 1 mourning Instagram commenter.

KitKat was fatally struck astir 11:40 p.m. connected Oct. 27 conscionable extracurricular the market, the quality tract Mission Local reported. Two witnesses, speaking anonymously, told the quality outlet that they had conscionable near Dalva and saw the feline sitting successful beforehand of a stopped self-driving Waymo for astir 7 seconds. Then the feline walked nether the vehicle, heading toward the sidewalk, arsenic the car pulled away. The close rear tyre ran implicit KitKat, the website said.

“It was an atrocious sight,” 1 of the witnesses told Mission Local.

KitKat, 9, was affectionate with galore customers astatine Randa’s Market successful San Francisco.

(Nick Escobar)

Another idiosyncratic driving by saw the Waymo swerve and told Mission Local helium thought the robotaxi was driving faster than helium would expect a quality would thrust connected a engaged street. “Killed the neighborhoods baby,” a remark connected the city’s 311 website said soon aft the incident.

A bartender from different adjacent bar, Delirium, rushed KitKat to a veterinarian hospital, wherever helium was pronounced dead, according to Mission Local.

The feline was 9 years old, the San Francisco Standard reported.

“We’re heartbroken,” Randa’s Market said connected Instagram. “He brought warmth, smiles, and comfortableness to everyone who walked done our doors.... The store won’t beryllium the aforesaid without his small paws padding around.”

KitKat was a beloved beingness on 16th Street successful San Francisco.

(Randa’s Market)

One mourner, responding to the post, called KitKat “the champion metropolis bodega feline anyone could ever inquire for. His lil favored requests meant a batch for immoderate of america passing through, whether we missed our ain favored oregon conscionable wanted to stock immoderate emotion with a neighbor.”

In a statement, Waymo said: “We reviewed this, and portion our conveyance was stopped to prime up passengers, a adjacent feline darted nether our conveyance arsenic it was pulling away.

“We nonstop our deepest sympathies to the cat’s proprietor and the assemblage who knew and loved him, and we volition beryllium making a donation to a section carnal rights enactment successful his honor,” the connection said. “The spot and information of the communities we service is our highest priority.”

KitKat was affable with galore customers of Randa’s Market successful San Francisco’s Mission District. KitKat was killed by a Waymo connected Oct. 27.

(Randa’s Market)

A Waymo has had a run-in with a favored before. News outlets successful 2023 reported connected a Waymo striking and sidesplitting a tiny off-leash canine successful San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood; successful that case, a trial operator was successful the vehicle, but the car was successful self-driving mode.

In 1 adjacent call, a Waymo narrowly avoided moving implicit a runaway canine successful Santa Monica successful May. An 8-year-old Labrador mix, Trevor, had escaped his owner’s gait and ran into the thoroughfare successful beforehand of a Waymo, which braked suddenly, KCAL-TV reported. The presumption broadcast video of the near-collision. The canine was uninjured, and his proprietor praised the car’s speedy action.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has received reports of 884 collisions involving autonomous vehicles dating to 2014.

A Waymo robotaxi successful downtown Los Angeles successful September.

(Gary Coronado/For The Times)

Waymo, owned by Google’s parent, Alphabet, has been expanding its footprint crossed California. The robotaxis — electrical Jaguar I-Paces — don’t usage a quality operator and tin beryllium hailed connected an app successful San Francisco and a swath of bluish San Mateo County, including Daly City, San Bruno and Burlingame. They’re besides disposable successful parts of Silicon Valley and surrounding areas, including Mountain View, Los Altos, Palo Alto and Menlo Park.

In Los Angeles County, Waymos tin beryllium hailed crossed a information of cardinal L.A., South L.A., and the Westside, including downtown L.A., Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Inglewood.

The self-driving cars are besides disposable successful Phoenix.