Audio By Carbonatix For the first time in Denver’s history, an empty vehicle driving on its own was involved in a car crash. A (human) driver traveling on West 8th Avenue rear-ended a stopped vehicle and pushed it into the back of a stopped Waymo at the Delaware Street intersection at around 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 27, according to the Denver Police Department. The self-driving Waymo taxi was unoccupied. None of the people involved suffered serious injuries, police say. The two drivers claimed the Waymo stopped suddenly for no apparent reason, blaming it for the collision, CBS reported. A Waymo spokesperson says its vehicle stopped to yield to a pedestrian waiting in the curb cut to cross the street, adding that the pedestrian crossed without incident. One of the drivers told CBS they didn’t see anyone crossing. There is no marked crosswalk or stop sign at the intersection where the Waymo stopped; however, state law requires vehicles to yield to pedestrians at all intersections and crosswalks, even if the lines are not marked. Police issued the driver a citation for following too closely, finding him at fault. “The driver who initially crashed was following too closely, causing his vehicle to strike the rear of another car and cause a secondary crash into the Waymo vehicle,” says a DPD spokesperson. “There is no indication that the Waymo vehicle caused the crash.” This is the first reported collision involving a Waymo in Denver, according to DPD. The incident comes before the self-driving taxis have even opened to the public. The company says Waymo will be fully operational and open to Denver riders before the end of 2026. Waymo arrived in Denver last September, unleashing a fleet of AI-powered self-driving vehicles to map out the city. The operation started with human employees