SAN MATEO, Calif. — Two California teens who were out for a joyride in a Waymo received a sobering lesson on Monday.
The 15-year-olds were allegedly drinking and shooting water beads from a toy gun when they were basically busted by the driverless vehicle, which remotely prevented them from leaving it until police arrived.
According to a social media post by the San Mateo Police Department, the teens allegedly were drinking alcohol and shooting Orbeez beads as they rode in the driverless car.
That prompted Waymo to remotely halt the vehicle and lock the doors, KNTV reported. The car remained in a parking lot until police arrived, according to The Mercury News.
“We were able to safely remove both subjects and determined they were shooting Orbeez from the car as they sipped on afternoon libations while being chauffeured around town in the driverless vehicle,” police wrote.
The incident began when San Mateo police received a 911 call from a Waymo representative, KNTV reported.
“We got a call from a Waymo representative stating there were two people in their vehicle and saw them shooting out of their vehicle,” Jeanine Luna, a community relations officer for the San Mateo Police Department, told the television station. “They also reported seeing a recoil.”
Waymo shared the car’s location with authorities and remotely disabled it, telling the teens that the vehicle was experiencing mechanical issues, KNTV reported.
After the vehicle arrived at the parking lot, five officers were waiting, KRON reported.
“We conducted a high-risk traffic stop,” Luna told the television station. “Waymo did disable the vehicle for us in a location that we were able to set up safely.
“And at that point, we pulled them out of the vehicle, searched the vehicle, and then we found what we determined to be Orbeez.”
The teens were detained by police and later released to their parents, KRON reported. The district attorney’s office is reviewing the case for possible charges that could include underage drinking and engaging in threatening behavior, according to the television station.
Police credited the teens for not operating a vehicle while drinking, but added there were concerns because of their alleged actions in the driverless vehicle.
“While there was some ingenuity to this scheme, toy guns, water guns, and BB guns all pose real dangers, especially to an untrained eye,” police wrote. “The simple handling of them can cause fear in passerby’s or to those who don’t get a good look.”
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