AUSTIN, Texas — Austin city leaders are taking a closer look at how autonomous vehicles operate during emergencies after a recent incident involving a driverless car and first responders downtown. The issue will be the focus of a special joint meeting on Wednesday between the City Council’s Public Safety Committee and Mobility Committee. The discussion comes after video surfaced showing a Waymo autonomous vehicle blocking an ambulance responding to a deadly mass shooting on West Sixth Street in the early morning hours of March 1. “We talked to first responders after the fact, and they said that it didn’t affect the response time, but there is a reality that it could have,” said District 9 Council Member Zo Qadri. Qadri, who represents downtown, said the situation highlights a broader concern. Fire officials also reported that as many as five Waymo vehicles blocked a response corridor for ambulances that same night. In a separate incident last October, an autonomous vehicle drove over a fire hose at an active fire scene. Qadri, who serves as vice chair of the Mobility Committee, said Wednesday’s meeting is intended to gather more information and prevent similar situations in the future. “Just to get more answers on what happened and make sure things like this don’t happen again,” he said. District 8 Council Member Paige Ellis, who chairs the Mobility Committee, called the issue a top priority. “Sometimes there needs to be some tweaks made to make sure they’re functioning correctly,” Ellis said. Despite being invited, Waymo representatives confirmed to KVUE on Monday that none of their representatives will attend the public meeting. A Waymo spokesperson emailed the following statement: “Safety is fundamental to everything we do and that means taking responsibility and always improving based on what we learn. We've already had the substantive conversations