San Francisco Tennis Coach Reports Priceless Equipment Stolen by Self-Driving Car

A passenger from San Francisco says that a Waymo autonomous taxi drove away with his costly tennis gear inside. Over two months have passed since then, yet he remains clueless about the whereabouts of his belongings.

As first reported according to the San Francisco Standard, The passenger is submitting a lawsuit for a minor claim against the company.

Dan Linley resides in lower Nob Hill and divides his time between working as a high school tennis coach and giving private tennis lessons.

"I've been at this for 30 years now; it's what puts food on my table," Linley stated.

Similar to numerous residents of San Francisco, he does not own a vehicle. Recently, he has been navigating the city using Waymo autonomous taxis.

On February 7th, around 5:30 PM, Linley mentioned that the Waymo vehicle he was traveling in let him out at Golden Gate Park. However, the trunk containing his high-end tennis gear wouldn't open.

Waymo mentioned on an internet platform When the riders arrived at their destination, the trunk was supposed to unlock automatically as they exited the vehicle. However, according to Linley, this did not occur during his experience. Despite being familiar with the Waymo app from previous use, where one could tap a button within the application to access the trunk manually, Linley mentioned that he found no such feature available this time around. Additionally, the trunk failed to open on its own without intervention.

So I contacted customer support to find out if they could unlock my car remotely," Linley remembered. "The person who answered the call was extremely polite, but just as he attempted to access the trunk, the vehicle started moving on its own.

And I told him, 'You see the car is moving away, and I even took a photo of it. So, I'm not sure what else you expect me to do,'" Linley explained. "He remained quite composed and polite, and then he said, 'I will go ahead and file a lost and found report for your situation.'

Linley remembered that his belongings could be easily spotted through the car’s rear window, so he assumed Waymo wouldn’t struggle to find them. Inside the trunk of the vehicle lay a sizable duffel bag stuffed with tennis balls, a mobile coaching station, a few "ball hoppers," his own tennis racquet, along with various other equipment.

He further mentioned that the missing equipment is quite expensive, and he is also losing income since he cannot conduct lessons without it.

Linley mentioned that over the last two months, he has been requesting Waymo to either return his possessions or compensate him. However, he stated that nothing of this sort has occurred, even though he has corresponded with several Waymo representatives.

This week, Linley submitted a lawsuit to the small claims court against Waymo, asking for compensation of $12,500 due to damages incurred. According to him, this sum encompasses the worth of the stolen equipment as well as the income he has missed out on because he can't conduct his teaching sessions. Linley mentioned that he now has over 20 individuals on a waiting list wanting to take lessons from him; however, without the necessary tools, he cannot assist them.

Waymo turned down NBC Bay Area’s request for an interview; however, a representative stated in a press release, "We are communicating with the person involved and striving to address the issue. The aim of Waymo’s Support Team is to return lost belongings to their respective riders."

“Their absence isn’t being overlooked,” Linley stated regarding his belongings.

"They got lost, not because of me; they weren't lost due to my actions; rather, they were abducted by the vehicle," he maintained.

Linley feels annoyed and puzzled over the disappearance of his belongings.

He mentioned that when he reached out to a Waymo representative, they informed him that the company was still looking into his case.

"I was thinking, 'What exactly is there to look into here? Are we checking for fingerprints? Or maybe contacting the FBI? What could possibly be investigated? Just find the items!'" Linley stated.

He mentioned that this entire experience has made him think twice about using Waymo in the future.

For now, he offers this guidance to fellow riders: "My recommendation is to keep your belongings in the back seat."